Radon Testing in Hyrum, UT

Should you test your Hyrum home for radon?

Hyrum homes should be tested: the town is in Cache County, where radon is a known risk, and only a test shows your level, since the gas has no color, smell or taste. Radon is a radioactive gas that forms on its own when uranium in soil and rock breaks down. It moves up through the ground and can collect inside homes, most often in basements and lower floors. Two houses on the same street can test very differently, so a result from next door does not tell you yours. The EPA recommends testing homes for radon, because long-term exposure to high levels is a health risk. We offer radon testing in Hyrum, about 12 miles east of our Brigham City home base in Cache Valley.

Warning signs your Hyrum home is due for a radon test

It has never been tested

If you do not know the radon level in your home, that is reason enough. Nothing you can see or smell tips you off, so a test is the only way to find out.

Someone now sleeps or works in the basement

A basement bedroom, office or family room means more hours at the level where radon tends to be highest. Test once the space is in regular use.

New cracks or a new sump pit

Settling cracks in the slab or walls, and a sump pit open to the soil below, are paths radon can use to get inside. Changes like these are a good time to test again.

Winter is settling in

Hyrum homes stay closed up through the cold months, and few people open a window during a Cache Valley winter inversion. With less fresh air coming in, radon has more time to build up indoors.

Common causes of high radon in Hyrum homes

Uranium in the soil and rock

Radon starts underground, where soil and rock hold small amounts of uranium. As it slowly breaks down, it gives off radon gas that seeps toward the surface.

The stack effect

In a heated house, warm air rises and leaks out near the top, which pulls new air in near the bottom. This is called the stack effect. In winter, the pull draws soil gas in through the foundation.

Openings in the foundation

Gaps around pipes, cracks in the slab, floor drains and sump pits all link the inside of the house to the soil under it.

Tight, energy-saving construction

Newer homes are built to hold heat in, which also slows the swap of indoor and outdoor air. A tight house can hold onto radon longer.

What to expect when you test for radon

We start by asking about your home: if it has a basement, which rooms you use most and if it has been tested before. You get the price before the test begins.

Here is what a standard radon test involves. A test device sits in the lowest lived-in level of the house for a few days. It goes away from drafts, outside walls and damp rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms. The house stays closed during the test, apart from normal coming and going. Then a lab or the monitor reports the radon level. We go over the result with you in plain language. A high result is usually checked with a second test.

If your Hyrum home does test high, we can discuss radon mitigation with you and install it. Before we suggest anything, we look at your foundation, any basement or crawl space and the sump pit, since those shape what will work in your house. You get the price before work begins, and a test afterward shows where the level landed.

Radon testing in Hyrum

Hyrum is about 12 miles east of Brigham City in Cache Valley. Cache County is one of the parts of Northern Utah where radon risk is known. The town has older neighborhoods and newer subdivisions. Older houses can have settling cracks and open gaps around pipes, while newer ones are built tight. Either kind can hold radon. Long, cold winters keep houses shut for months, so a winter test shows your home when radon tends to peak. For more about the services we offer in town, visit our Hyrum service area page.

Related services in Hyrum

Our radon testing page covers testing and mitigation for homes across Northern Utah. Sump pits are one of the ways soil gas gets in, so see sump pumps in Hyrum if yours is open or due for service. For steady fresh air in a tightly built house, read about ventilation system installation in Hyrum. To look at other indoor pollutants, start with indoor air quality testing.

Schedule radon testing in Hyrum

Call (435) 730-2536 Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM, or schedule online. If you are buying or selling, tell us your timeline and we will plan the test around it.