Everyone knows to get their homes inspected before buying, but how many think about an air quality test. The air in a home can often have 300 times more toxins in it than the air outside the home, but most people do not even think about getting their air in the prospective new home tested. Depending on the home, this can turn out to be a fatal error.
One of the most common gases found in homes these days is Radon, which is odorless, colorless, tasteless and radioactive. Radon is created when uranium is broken down, and uranium is commonly found in soil, rock and ground water around Canada. When the Radon escapes into the air, it becomes diluted, but when it goes from the ground into a house it can reach very high levels.
In a study done back in the 1970s by Health Canada of 14,000 homes in 18 cities, a significant minority were found to have high levels of radon gas.
These days, long-term exposure of Radon gas has been attributed to cause 2,000 deaths a year, and is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who do not smoke.
If you want to have a Radon tested in your future home, you can purchase a do-it-yourself kit at most home supply stores. If you do not want to do the test yourself, you can have an environmental technician from the City of Toronto do it for you. They will test both indoor and outdoor Radon levels for you.
Now, if there is Radon in the house, then you will have to get the Radon levels reduced in the home. If you already bought the home, then you can expect to pay about $2,500 to lower the Radon levels in your new home.
Everyone worries about asbestos in homes and this is routinely tested during inspections, but no one seems to think about Radon. If you are going to be buying a home this year, don’t forget about how important it is to have your new home tested for Radon gas, as well as other dangerous gases. If you find Radon gas in the home, make it a clause of the purchase that the levels are reduced at the expense of the current homeowner before you buy.
There is no reason you should buy a home that has toxic radioactive gas in it, so get the home tested before you buy.
