Question 1

How often should I test my home for radon?

Accepted Answer

The Ohio Department of Health recommends retesting a single-family home every two years and after any significant renovation. Test sooner if you start using a lower level, replace the radon fan, or change the sump, waterproofing, or HVAC. ODH sets a longer clock for bigger buildings: multifamily, school, and commercial buildings should be retested every five years or after significant renovation. In a house with a mitigation system, the first test after the install belongs inside Ohio's window of 24 hours to 30 days after the fan starts, and the installer is required to advise you in writing to retest at least every two years after that. Between tests, the gauge on the pipe is the everyday check. A two-year rhythm fits the climate zone 5A heating season well: pick a month between November and March, close the house the way the testing protocol asks, and keep each result with the install paperwork so you can compare year over year. The retest schedule lays out the full timeline.

Question 2

Short-term or long-term radon test: which one do I need?

Accepted Answer

A short-term test, 48 hours to 90 days under Ohio's protocol, is the tool for a home sale and a first screening. A long-term test of more than 90 days shows the year-round average and is the better basis for a borderline decision. Ohio's recommended strategy for a home that is not being sold starts with a short-term test in the lowest livable level, then adds a second short-term test or a long-term test when the first result lands between 4 and 8 pCi/L. For a sale, only the short route is practical, and Ohio requires at least 48 hours using either two side-by-side devices or a continuous monitor. Long-term devices, such as alpha-track detectors, suit a homeowner who wants the whole seasonal swing of a zone 5A year, and they need far less babysitting than a closed-house short test. Neither type is more official than the other; they answer different questions. The comparison page lays them side by side.

Question 3

Can I test my own home for radon?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Ohio's licensing law exempts owners testing their own home, and Ohio homeowners can order a free kit through ohio.radon.com or buy one for $15 to $30. For a home sale, use an Ohio-licensed radon tester instead. A kit gives a sound screening number when it is used the way Ohio's measurement protocol describes. Close the house for at least 12 hours before starting and keep it closed during the test, apart from normal coming and going. Set the device in the lowest level that is lived in, 20 inches to 6 feet off the floor, at least a foot from exterior walls, 3 feet from doors, windows, and vents, 4 feet from heat sources, and 10 feet from the sump, and never in a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, or closet. Skip stormy or very windy stretches. Mail it as soon as the kit instructions say. A sale test is a different animal: 48 hours minimum, side-by-side devices or a continuous monitor, a signed noninterference agreement, and a licensed tester. See the testing service.

Question 4

When is the best time of year to test for radon in Columbus?

Accepted Answer

The heating season, roughly October through March, when houses stay closed and warm air rising indoors draws harder on the soil. A result from those months is a stronger basis for a decision than a summer short-term test. Central Ohio sits in IECC climate zone 5A, a colder zone than Cincinnati's 4A, so the closed-house season runs long. Warm air rising through a heated house leaves the lowest level at slightly lower pressure than the soil, and that difference pulls soil gas inside; in mild weather with windows open the effect fades. Ohio's protocol already requires closed-building conditions for short tests, which narrows the gap, but it cannot recreate January in July. Two practical cautions: do not run a short test during a severe storm or sustained winds of 30 mph or more, and if you travel mid-test, keep the heat running normally. A long-term test of more than 90 days captures the whole swing. See the heating-season testing plan.

Question 5

My radon test came back at 6.5 pCi/L. What does that mean?

Accepted Answer

It is above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L, and it is not an emergency. For a home not being sold, Ohio's testing strategy calls for a second short-term or a long-term test at that level, then a fix if the average stays at 4 or more. On the EPA's lifetime risk table, 6.5 sits between the 4 and 8 pCi/L rows, where about 7 to 15 of every 1,000 never smokers, and about 62 to 120 of every 1,000 smokers, could get lung cancer from a lifetime of exposure. That is why the answer is to fix it this season, not to move out. If the number came from a real estate test, Ohio's strategy is simpler: 4.0 or higher means fix the home, without a second test. Check how the result was produced before acting on it. The report should show start and stop times, the device and its serial number, the tester's Ohio license number, and where the device sat. A kit left in a laundry room or beside the sump does not meet Ohio's placement rules. See how to read an Ohio radon report.

Radon Testing in New Albany, OH

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Radon Testing in New Albany

Radon Testing in New Albany: a Georgian-style master-planned community built almost entirely after 1995 around a small original 1837 village core foundations and Columbus-area geology

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Radon Testing in New Albany, OH

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Radon Testing in New Albany

Radon Testing in New Albany: a Georgian-style master-planned community built almost entirely after 1995 around a small original 1837 village core foundations and Columbus-area geology

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