Radon Testing

If you have never tested, or your last test was years ago, start here. Radon testing is the fastest and least expensive step in the whole process, and every other decision depends on it. We place a professional continuous radon monitor, read it ourselves, and hand you a clear answer instead of a number to decode.

Why test a York County home

York County sits in EPA Radon Zone 1, the category with the highest potential for elevated indoor radon. Pennsylvania as a whole reports some of the highest levels in the country, and the south-central counties are consistently among the worst. That does not mean your home is high. It means the odds are real enough that guessing is a bad plan.

Radon comes from uranium breaking down in the soil and rock under the house. It moves through cracks in the slab, the joint where the floor meets the wall, sump pits (the holes where basement pumps remove groundwater), crawlspace soil, and gaps around pipes. Two houses on the same street can read very differently because the soil, the foundation, and the way the house breathes are never quite the same. The only way to know your number is to measure it.

Test now if any of these apply.

• The home has never been tested, or the last test was more than two years ago.
• You are buying or selling, and the agreement of sale has a radon contingency.
• You have finished a basement or someone sleeps on the lowest level.
• You have done foundation work, replaced a furnace or air handler, or added a sump pump.
• A mitigation system was installed and it has not been checked in a while.

How our radon testing works

We place the monitor

A technician sets a continuous radon monitor in the lowest level of the home that is or could be lived in, away from drafts, exterior walls, and sources of heat. For a short-term test the house stays under closed conditions, with windows shut, doors used normally, and no whole-house fans running. We walk you through the rules before we leave, and they are simple.

The monitor records hour by hour

Unlike a mail-in charcoal kit, a continuous monitor logs a reading every hour, tracks temperature and pressure, and flags tampering or unusual swings. That gives us a chart, not just an average, so we can see whether a number was driven by weather, by an open window, or by a real problem under the slab.

You get a written result the same day

When we pick up the monitor we generate the report on the spot, with the average, the hourly chart, and what it means for your home. If the level is elevated we explain your options and what a system would involve. If it is low, we tell you that, suggest when to retest, and leave.

Short-term, long-term, or post-mitigation?

Testing for a real estate transaction

Radon is part of Pennsylvania's seller disclosure, and most York County agreements of sale include a radon contingency with a tight window. We schedule transaction tests quickly, use monitors with tamper detection so the result holds up for both sides, and deliver a report that agents and attorneys are used to seeing. If the number comes back high, we can quote a mitigation system the same day so the deal keeps moving. See how mitigation works.

What your results mean

Radon is measured in pCi/L, short for picocuries per liter of air.

There is no level known to be completely safe, so lower is always better. Most homes we mitigate end up well under 2.0 pCi/L.

What affects the cost of a test

It comes down to the type of test, the turnaround you need, and the size of the home. A large house or one with more than one foundation type may need more than one monitor to get an honest picture. Transaction tests on a deadline are scheduled first. Every test includes the written report and a plain-language walk-through, and the estimate is free.

Common questions about testing

Do we need to leave the house?

No. Live in it normally. Just keep windows closed and skip whole-house or attic fans for the length of the test.

Can I use a store-bought kit instead?

You can, and a kit is better than nothing. A professional continuous monitor gives an hourly record, tamper detection, and a report a buyer or lender will accept. For a decision as big as a mitigation system, we think the extra confidence is worth it.

Does testing damage anything?

No. The monitor sits on a stand or a shelf, plugs into a wall outlet, and leaves no mark.