We are going through the steps to purchase a home here. We have done the pre-qualify thing. We’ve got a realtor. We have a contract. The bank is going to do an appraisal. However, we also needed to have the home checked for Radon gas.
I have been surprised to discover how many people have never even heard of this. It is a gas which can seep into the basement of your home, which if breathed over time can cause lung cancer. Now this gas is present in many basements, but does not always build up to toxic levels, and in fact is harmless at lower levels of concentration. It cost $100 to have the gentleman come in to do the test, and it takes 48 hours to complete it.
So, what do you get for your money? The guy comes in with a little metal box with what looks like a microphone on the side. It is battery operated. He sits it down, turns it on, and leaves for two days, after which he comes back, looks at the meter on the side, and tells you how much Radon concentration you have in your home. Ours was very good, so we don’t need to worry about it, and we do get a written report telling us the same thing for our records. All for $100 and two minutes work plus the initial cost of the meter. I think I’m in the wrong business. I guess the peace of mind that we now have knowing we aren’t going to get lung cancer (at least not from Radon) should be worth the cost, but somehow I want more. Maybe they could give you a sticker that says, “RADON FREE HOME”, or even a nice T-shirt saying, “NO LUNG CANCER FOR ME—WE’RE RADON FREE!” That might even be worth an extra $10, but at the going rate for the rest of the test, it would probably be more like $50.
Take care, breathe free, and have a great day. Stick.
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