Why Combining Radon Testing With Air Quality Monitoring is Vital

Posted in Radon Testing, on September 23, 2024

There are many invisible elements in our homes and air quality testing in Toronto is the best way to reveal them. At SafeAir, we’ve been helping families eliminate allergens, sleep better, and be healthier for over a decade with our safe and reliable environmental assessments. Along with general testing, having specialized services like radon testing can increase the impact of our recommendations and boost your home’s long-term safety. 

Air Quality and You

Air quality affects our whole bodies. We spend up to 80% of our lives indoors, making our indoor air environment more important than outdoor pollution. Air feeds our bodies, affecting our skin, eyes, nose, respiratory system, and brain health. Without good air quality, the human body has both short and long-term health issues, some of which may lead to serious disease. 

Radon gas is one of those serious air quality problems. Radon is a radioactive gas produced naturally by the earth. It can get trapped inside homes, usually in the basement or lower levels, and, once inhaled, causes subtle but long-lasting damage. Radon is the second-most leading cause of lung cancer in Canada, but because it has no taste, smell, or physical presence, you will never know it’s in your home without air quality testing. 

The Types of Air Quality Monitoring

There are two ways to look at your home’s air quality: one is with a short-term, time-specific view, and the other is the long game. Both types are excellent options - examining what types of air pollution affect your home is never wrong - but in some situations, we’ll recommend one kind of testing over the other. 

Short-term air quality tests in Toronto are usually one-time visits, where we’ll do a whole home inspection and take air, temperature, and humidity samples to determine if there are pollutants or other problems like mould growth. This type of testing is great if you’d like to improve air quality, would like to address a health issue, or are about to move or renovate. 

Long-term air quality monitoring happens over months or years. It’s an excellent service to consider if you’re working on long-term projects like additions or significant renovations, have a new family member joining, or wish to monitor changing situations or elements. Radon testing falls under this umbrella since initial testing takes months to complete, and follow-up testing (again, of several months duration) helps ensure mitigation is working. 

What Radon Testing Tells Us

The way SafeAir runs radon testing is based on the latest industry standards and guidelines. Radon levels can fluctuate throughout the year and shift based on external factors like weather and temperature. Therefore, it’s critical to do long-term testing that takes place over several months, evening out those fluctuations and resulting in more accurate test results. 

Our testing device is small and discreet; installation takes a few minutes on the lower level of the home, and the device is passive, like a fire alarm. Unlike an alarm, these devices are entirely silent, taking continuous readings over a 3-6 month period. 

Once the testing period is complete, SafeAir will return for another short de-installation visit and send the device off for analysis at a third-party lab. Results from this lab will be presented to you in a format that’s easy to understand, and our technicians will help you navigate the following steps, giving you science-based advice on changes should your home test positive for radon gas. 

Ensure Your Home is Safe with Radon Testing

Safe, healthy, breathable air is our priority at SafeAir — that’s why it’s in our name! Radon gas is only one of many pollutants and allergens that air quality testing in Toronto detects, but it’s a serious problem that requires diagnosis and treatment for your family’s safety. To ask our team about radon testing or any other short- or long-term air quality tests, reach out today! 

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