Get matched with top radon detection and reduction specialists in Lakeport, CA

Keeping radon from getting into your home is much better than having to get rid of it once it's already indoors. While there may not be a way to fully prevent radon from getting into your home, there are things you can do to reduce the gas's ability to enter. 

Sealing foundation cracks and openings can help keep the gas from seeping inside. Improving air flow, such as by opening windows, can also be helpful. If you're building your home from scratch, talk to your contractor about using radon-resistant construction to keep the gas out.

The only way to determine if you have a radon problem in your home is to have professional testing done. You can buy DIY radon test kits, but these are sometimes inaccurate in certain temperatures and humidity levels, and they don’t paint the entire picture in terms of your radon exposure. Scheduling testing once every two to five years is best. You can also look out for the following symptoms, which, according to the American Cancer Society, are symptoms of radon exposure:

• Shortness of breath

• Cough

• Tightness in the chest

• Difficulty swallowing

• Hoarseness

Radon is present almost everywhere but, like sunlight, the concentration levels and how often you are exposed to it have a large part to play in just how dangerous it is. There are levels of radon that are acceptable inside a house, but above a certain limit, radon becomes a serious radioactive hazard that is a known cause of lung cancer. In fact, radon exposure is the number two leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking).

Radon enters your home when warm air begins to rise and exits through the roof, creating a vacuum that pulls cooler air from under the foundation. Part of that air is radon, which is an invisible, odorless gas that develops naturally when radioactive particles are deep within the ground. Those particles usually come from decaying matter in soil and rocks.