What is radon mitigation?

Radon mitigation is the process by which you lower the amount of radon in your home.

It's a simple concept that's intentionally been made more imposing by a serious-sounding piece of jargon, usually to convince you that you need a professional to do it for you. But, even though the term mitigation itself may sound complex and technical, it just means an act that lessens or moderates—in this case, radon gas.

Radon mitigation could just as well have been called radon mellowing. Sounds better already, doesn't it?

So, always remember that while there are retailers and professionals who will claim that there is only one way to lower radon—and some will claim "radon mitigation" as a singular patented process which only they can legally provide—this isn't the case. Radon mitigation is a bit like dieting: there are many ways of doing it!

Hence, radon can be "mitigated" using various methods.

First, you can seal the cracks and crannies through which the radon gets into your home. Comb your basement floors and walls for unwanted openings, grab a concrete crack repair kit, and away you go. Sound simple? It is. And, more importantly, if less radon gets into your home, then less radon gets into your lungs, and you have a lower your risk of developing lung cancer.

Second, if you can't lessen the amount of radon gas entering your home, you can speed up the rate by which it leaves. The key here is ventilation. You can do this the easy way, and achieve some results by opening windows, using fans, creating and taking advantage of drafts; or, you can do it the more direct way, and actually increase the power and effectiveness of your home's ventilation system. These upgrades run from about $1000 - $3000 a pop, but they do work.

Other creative methods of reducing radon gas in your house are soil suction, which attempts to suck the radon out from beneath your home, thereby decreasing the amount of gas that does get inside, and home pressurization, another jargon-laden term that basically refers to creating a pressure difference between the exterior and interior of your home so that radon is pushed back rather than sucked in. Basically, if you can think back to high school physics and remember how gases interact with one another, you can apply that knowledge to the problem of radon. It's not an impossible problem to understand; it's just an unwanted gas.

Which type of radon mitigation you need depends on your particular situation, but sealing cracks and opening windows is always a good idea, regardless. For more information, please take advantage of your government's health services. After all, you pay the taxes, so take advantage of what they're used for!