The Difference Between Radon Detection and Air Quality Testing
Posted in Air Quality, on February 12, 2024
Take a deep breath — the air you breathe at home or work may not smell like much, but there’s a complex mix of allergens, particles, chemicals and other factors that swirl around you every day. At SafeAir, we offer services like radon detection and air quality testing in Toronto to help identify those factors and eliminate the ones that pose risks to your health and wellness. Every home has a unique air environment that can affect your respiratory system, skin, general health, sleep, and more. This article will introduce you to two commonly requested services in Toronto: radon testing and air quality testing.
What is Radon?
When uranium deep in the earth’s surface decays, it produces a radioactive gas called radon. This gas seeps from the ground and can collect in people’s basements or ground-floor levels. Invisible, scentless, and only detectable using specialized devices, radon gas isn’t well known despite it being the second-most leading cause of lung cancer in Canadians.
Radon Detection
Because of the cancer risk, testing for radon gas in your home is essential to your long-term health and safety. At SafeAir, we prefer long-term radon tests that last 3-6 months. During a short visit from our team, a tiny passive testing device is carefully installed in the lower level of your home. After six months, we remove it and send it to a lab for analysis. Homes that exceed Health Canada’s guideline of 200 Becquerels per cubic metre or less must consider radon mitigation strategies like foundation sealing, sump pump covers, or even specialized fans or ventilation.
Air Quality Testing
Radon gas is one factor that affects overall air quality in your home, and testing can happen as a stand-alone service or part of a more generalized environmental assessment. Air quality testing looks at the whole home environment, analyzing how elements of your home environment interplay to cause or increase air quality issues. Something like mold growth is an excellent example of this relationship: air quality problems like poor ventilation or high humidity can cause or worsen mold problems, but may also just be causing discomfort.
The Difference Between Radon Detection and Air Quality Testing
When SafeAir offers air quality testing in Toronto, we usually offer radon testing at the same time — combined, these services will cover all major and common air quality issues that affect daily and long-term health and wellness. While radon testing looks at one specific area of air quality and safety, general air quality tests look at the whole picture.
Which one is right for your home? Well, that depends on your needs and health goals. Many folks with young children suffering from asthma or family members with compromised immune systems often choose air quality testing to reduce their overall risk. Homes that are situated in higher-risk areas for radon or folks wishing to reduce their long-term cancer risk may choose radon detection to begin with. Whatever your choice, the SafeAir team is here to help walk you through the pros and cons and understand what service might benefit you and your home the most.
To schedule a visit, contact us online or by telephone today.