Tag Archives: radon test kits

Can A Geiger Counter Detect Radon?

Radon, which is considered a cancer-causing gas, is a decay product of uranium. This radioactive material is present in the soil and water; that’s why it naturally occurs everywhere. Since radon is a gas, it can move and enter your home, affecting the air quality you and your family breathe. Although it doesn’t cause adverse effects right away, long-term exposure can increase your risk of lung cancer. That’s why detecting radon through radon testing or using a Geiger counter is recommended.

Short-Term and Long-Term Radon Testing

Radon mitigation starts by identifying whether the gases are present in the area or not. This is why homeowners hire licensed radon contractors to perform radon testing. It has two types—short-term and long-term testing. The first one is used to determine the presence of radon gas. Long-term testing helps people monitor radon levels which is essential since the gas fluctuates at different times.

What is A Geiger Counter?

When testing your home for radon, you can use DIY radon test kits or a Geiger counter. The latter is also called a Geiger-Muller tube or a G-M counter which was named after Hans Geiger. Geiger is a German scientist whose work focused on detecting radiation in the early 1900s. In the 1920s, Walter Mueller, a graduate Ph.D. student of Geiger’s, perfected the gas-sealed detector. This is why he also received credit for his work, hence the name Geiger-Mueller tube.

The Geiger counter is an instrument that you can use to detect radiation. This device is handy since humans cannot see radon using any of their five senses. Since the Geiger counter can detect ionization, you can also use it for radon mitigation. Besides, many people like the Geiger counter because it is one of the least expensive electronic devices to tell you if there is radiation around you.

How Does A Geiger Counter Works?

Probably, you are wondering how a Geiger counter works. This device has two main parts: a sealed tube or chamber filled with gas, and the other one is an information display. When radiation enters the tube and collides with the gas, it pushes an electron away from the gas atom. As such, an ion pair is created. The wire in the middle of the tube attracts electrons which make other ion pairs. This sends a current through the wire. 

The current sent through the wire goes to the information display, causing the needle across a scale to move or make a number display on a screen. This allows the device to provide “counts per minute,” or the number of ion pairs created every 60 seconds. If you turn the loudspeaker on, it clicks every time an ion pair is made. You can identify the number of clicks in the Geiger counter chamber, which tells how much radiation enters the device.

If you want to hear a clicking sound using the Geiger counter, you need to turn on the speaker. You can always hear a clicking sound since there is always some radiation in the background. Some of the radiation naturally comes from the sun, uranium in the soil, radon, particular rock, plants, and even food.

You can use different devices to detect radon, and one of them is a Geiger counter. Although some people doubt its accuracy, there are still homeowners who use this device to count how much radiation is present in homes. If you want professional radon mitigation, hiring a licensed radon contractor from your state is ideal.

Radon Test Kits: Short-Term vs Long-Term

Radon is prevalent in all American states. Since this radioactive gas can cause cancer, health sectors are doing their best to spread awareness about the cancer-causing gas. However, being aware of what radon can do is not enough to avoid health risks. As someone who wants to avoid radon’s adverse effects, it is essential that you also do your part, and that is to decrease radon levels in your home, school, or office. Therefore, you need radon test kits that will help you assess whether the radon is present in your area. It will also help you identify whether the radon level is tolerable or not.

What Are Radon Test Kits Used For?

Radon test kits are helpful tools because they can determine the radon levels in the areas you will be using them. Unlike hiring a radon expert to assess the radon levels, using radon test kits is less expensive. If you are looking for an inexpensive way of determining the radon levels at your home, school, or office, you may consider buying radon test kits. However, there are many choices to choose from. Not only that, but there are also so-called short-term and long-term radon test kits.

Short-Term vs Long-Term Radon Test Kits

There are two types of radon tests that you can do, which are short-term and long-term radon tests. A short-term radon test is performed to measure radon levels within 2-7 days. It is done to screen a home for radioactive gas. Short-term radon tests are conducted if you want to test a radon property, and you are planning to decrease the radon levels. On the other hand, the long-term test can measure radon levels for a minimum of 90 days. This type of test is ideal if you want to estimate radon’s annual average in your home. It would be best to perform the long-term radon test in both heating and non-heating seasons.

DIY Radon Test

If you are looking for a more inexpensive way of testing your home, school, or office for radon, then you may consider using DIY radon test kits. However, you should remember that the accuracy of a DIY radon test is always uncertain. Meaning, you cannot only depend on this kind of test. DIY radon test kits are only used if you want to determine the presence of the radioactive gas. 

You can make a DIY radon test kit by using either charcoal or alpha track. Charcoal tests can absorb the radon in the air but only for a specified amount of time. Once it is brought to the lab, the charcoal’s radioactive particles will be counted or converted to light, providing a radon level readout. On the other hand, alpha track tests use a plastic film etched by the alpha particles that strike it. Once brought to the lab, the tracks are counted, providing the radon level.

DIY Radon Test Kits: How to Make One

Remember that instructions for DIY radon test kits can be the same or could be similar to every other test. If you want to create DIY test kits, you may follow the instructions below:

  1. For 12 hours, make sure to keep all doors and windows closed before and during the test.
  2. Place the testing device at the lowest level of living and not the lowest level. This is because you need to know the level of radon you’re breathing daily. Therefore, make sure to test your crawlspace to avoid inaccurate results.
  3. Make sure to leave the test undisturbed for 48 to 96 hours, depending on the duration listed in the instructions for the test you bought.
  4. Send the device to the lab once the test is done. They will send the results back to you promptly.

Radon is a harmful radioactive gas. Since it poses health risks, everyone living in areas where radon is prevalent must take precautionary measures to avoid its adverse effects. Identifying radon’s presence and its level is one step before you can plan how to decrease the radon levels and achieve a radon-free environment. You may ask for radon experts or use radon test kits to determine your domestic and commercial properties’ radon level.