Radon is a naturally occurring gas you cannot see or smell, and it is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. The good news: every home can be tested cheaply, and almost any home can be fixed. Radon 101 turns the official guidance into plain English so you know exactly what to do.
No fear-mongering and no jargon, just clear answers and the specific next step, backed by the agencies that set the standards.
What radon is, how it gets into a home, whether it is actually dangerous, and how worried you should really be.
How to test, short-term vs long-term kits, what a good test costs, and how to read your result against the EPA and WHO levels.
How a sub-slab depressurization system actually works, what mitigation costs, and where DIY makes sense versus hiring a pro.
Radon in real estate: testing during a sale, whether to buy a house that already has a system, and who pays for the fix.
The real health risk, the action levels explained, and why radon varies so much from one home and region to the next.
This is your home, your health, and your money, so we do not guess. We translate the authorities, the U.S. EPA, Health Canada, the WHO, and the radon-professional bodies (AARST-NRPP and C-NRPP), into clear, practical guidance, and we tell you when a step is worth it and when it is not. We are an independent publication, not a testing or mitigation company, so we have no reason to talk you into anything.
You cannot fix what you have not measured, and a test kit is the cheapest insurance there is.
See our picks and learn how to read the result.
See the best radon test kits