Radon is a hidden danger that can have significant health risks and serious impacts on you and your family if exposed. Radon is a radioactive gas undetectable by sight, smell, taste, or touch, and it can seep into your home through cracks in the foundation and other openings throughout the dwelling. High levels of radon exposure can lead to health issues, so homeowners should prioritize radon testing and mitigation, especially in Ottawa and the surrounding areas.

If your home tests positive for high levels of radon gas, mitigation and management services should be your immediate priority. In some cases, professional help is your best solution to ensure proper mitigation and radon removal.

What is Radon, And Why Should You Care?

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that forms when minerals like uranium, thorium, and radium break down in soil, rock, and water. When found outdoors, it disperses harmlessly into the air, but indoors, it can accumulate and pose a serious health risk to anyone who is exposed. This risk is especially high in enclosed, confined areas, like basements, crawlspaces, and garages.

Exposure to high radon levels can have significant health implications. According to the Canadian Lung Association, radon gas exposure is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in Canadians. Long-term exposure can increase this risk, and up to 16% of lung cancer deaths are related to radon. Spreading awareness is an important part of helping prevent radon exposure, and protecting your household means taking radon seriously and acting to mitigate it when necessary.

What is Radon Mitigation?

Radon mitigation is defined as the process of reducing or removing radon gas levels in a home or building. Effective radon mitigation services will help make indoor spaces safer for its occupants by successfully rerouting the gas back out of the home, so its inhabitants can have peace of mind. While there are various methods of radon mitigation, the overall goal is always the same and will help to vent radon gas away and reduce or prevent dangerous buildup.

Some common mitigation techniques include:

Active sub-slab depressurization: This is the most common method of radon mitigation, generally because most homes have a concrete foundation, especially in the lower levels of the home. During a sub-slab depressurization, a professional will install a customized system of pipes and fans to suction or draw the radon from beneath the foundation and safely vent it outside.
Active soil depressurization: Soil gas pollution is also a common radon mitigation solution for Ottawa homeowners. This is often reserved for houses with dirt or soil-based basement floors and crawl spaces, which allows the radon gas to rise through the dirt and pollute the home at a faster rate than other structures. A suction pipe, radon fan, and discharge pipe will be installed to help vent the toxic gas away from the home and reduce indoor levels.
Sealing services: Another popular way to reduce radon levels, which can also be used as a preventative method in homes that test at safe levels, is by sealing any cracks, holes, gaps, and spaces in the foundation, walls, doors, exterior, and around pipes.
Increased ventilation: This method is especially popular in homes with crawl spaces, as this can be a simple and easy way to reduce radon concentrations in your home.
Alternative solutions: At Ottawa Radon Pros, we offer customizable radon gas mitigation services to help provide you with the best possible treatment, and follow-up services.

How to Test for Radon Gas in Your Ottawa Home

The only way to know if radon is present in your home is to test for it. Radon levels can vary from one home to another, but certain regions in Canada are known to have high radon levels, so testing is recommended to anyone living in Ottawa, or the neighboring communities. Even if you are not a homeowner, knowing the radon levels in a home you're renting or staying in can make a major difference in your health down the line.

Thankfully, radon testing is a simple, easy process and can be performed by just about anyone. DIY test kits are available at many hardware stores, and these kits allow you to test radon levels yourself, with both long-term and short-term kits available. Short-term kits are best before moving into a new home, staying in a rental, or if you need a fast result to better determine your radon mitigation plan. However, long-term results are recommended by Health Canada and can be performed anywhere from 3 to 12 months. They are best installed around the colder months, when homes are more sealed and insulated, as this can provide the best reading on radon levels that may be accumulating in the home.

You can also look into continuous testing devices, some of which can even be hooked up to smart devices to give you immediate readings on your phone or tablet. These can work similarly to thermostats or CO2 readers, providing you with a reading of the air quality in real time, and delivering a notification if levels go above the safe recommended limit.

In Canada, if radon levels exceed 200 Bq/m³, mitigation services should be highly considered and prioritized. If they are below this level, you should still remember to periodically test your home, as structural changes and seasonal shifts can always impact radon gas levels.

Choosing the Right Radon Mitigation Professional in Ottawa

Radon mitigation services are always best performed by professionals, as this will ensure you proceed with the best possible approach to reduce radon levels in your home. Professional assistance is the best approach if you test above 200 Bq/m³.

Homes with complex structures, multiple foundation types, unusual ventilation, and other special situations may also require professional expertise in order to achieve the best result. Certified professionals, like the team at Ottawa Radon Pros, can design a customized mitigation plan that carefully addresses your home’s specific needs. Our experts adhere to national standards and enforce the best practices available to ensure that radon levels will be successfully reduced to a safe range. We also offer follow-up testing to ensure the mitigation methods work as intended and radon levels are successfully reduced following mitigation services.

Radon is a serious health risk that requires immediate attention and regular maintenance, especially for Canadian homeowners. Knowing when to seek professional radon mitigation assistance can make a difference in ensuring a healthy living environment with safe indoor air quality. Whether you are testing for radon for the first time or you have tested above average and need help lowering levels, professional radon mitigation in Ottawa can offer peace of mind and protection to anyone in the overall area. Take control of your home’s air quality by getting a free consultation from the Ottawa Radon Pros by giving us a call today.