Radon system care and warranty information

Yes. In Illinois the post-mitigation test is taken after the system has run for at least 24 hours and no later than 30 days after installation, with the system running normally and continuously for the whole test. You can run it yourself with a test kit or hire an independent Illinois-licensed measurement professional. Send American Radon Systems a copy of the result so your file is complete.

Yes. A healthy mitigation fan runs continuously, and it should not be switched off in winter or while you are away. Whenever it is off, soil gas has its normal path back into the house, and the system gives no protection until it is running again. In our experience, running it year-round adds roughly $60 to $125 a year to the electric bill, depending on the fan and your rate. A light steady hum can be normal. If it gets loud, rattles, or goes silent, call Bill; that is a service call, not a switch.

If a fan we install fails during the first five years, we replace it at no cost to the homeowner. The service visit, labor, and replacement fan are all included. A replacement fan installed under warranty receives its own five-year term. Ordinary fan replacement outside warranty is $575, including the fan, the visit, the labor, and a new five-year term. No trip charge. Details, including transferability, are in your customer packet after install.

A fan that becomes noticeably louder, rattles, grinds, hums, or sends vibration through the wall may be wearing out or may have another system issue that should be checked. We can usually come out within a day or two, including systems another company installed. There is no trip charge. A fan replacement is $575, including the fan, the visit, the labor, and a new five-year fan warranty, and Bill confirms that before the visit. If the failed fan is one we installed and it is within the five-year warranty, the service visit, labor and replacement fan are included at no cost. Call Bill’s cell at (815) 370-9682, and send a clear photo of the fan and manometer if you can.

A properly working radon fan is not perfectly silent. Most produce a soft, steady sound of air moving through the pipe. If the system becomes completely silent, check the U-tube manometer. A working U-tube manometer normally shows the two liquid columns at different heights. If the columns are level with each other, the system is not showing suction. The manometer shows suction, not the radon level in the home. Call Bill’s cell or send him a photo of the gauge. Service is usually within a day or two.

The manometer is the small clear U-shaped gauge on the pipe. It shows suction, not the radon level in the home. Uneven liquid levels usually indicate suction. If both sides are level with each other, the system is not showing suction. If the reading changes substantially from its usual mark or the fan sounds different, send Bill a clear photo of the fan and manometer at (815) 370-9682 (his cell).

EPA says radon fans may last five years or more, and notes that manufacturer warranties tend not to exceed five years. EPA does not give a fixed replacement date. The fan tells you when it is wearing out: it gets noticeably louder, rattles, grinds, hums, or goes silent, and the manometer drops to level. If a fan we installed fails during its first five years, the service visit, labor, and replacement fan are included.

Call Bill with the result and, if you can, a photo of the manometer. First confirm the fan ran continuously through the whole test, because Illinois requires the system to operate normally and continuously during the measurement, and a test taken with the fan off or interrupted does not show how the system performs. If it was running the whole time, a level that is still elevated usually points to a part of the foundation the suction is not reaching, such as an attached crawl space, a separate slab section, or an unsealed opening. Bill looks at the system and the layout to sort out what it needs. If the result is above 3.9 pCi/L and the system needs more work under the warranty, we come back and do it.

EPA says it is a good idea to retest at least every two years once a home has a mitigation system. EPA also says to retest after mitigation work, after a remodel or addition, and when you begin using a lower level such as a basement as living space. A system that is running is not a reason to skip the retest. The retest is what shows the system is still doing its job.

Very little. Glance at the U-tube manometer now and then to confirm the liquid is uneven, listen for the soft, steady sound of the fan, make sure the outside pipe and fan look secure, and leave sump lids and sealed openings alone. Retest every two years. Call Bill if the gauge goes flat, the fan gets loud or silent, or anything gets damaged.

Every install comes with written documentation from a state licensed mitigator, which is what a buyer, their inspector, and their agent will want to see. Warranty details, including transferability, are spelled out in the customer packet you receive after installation, so keep that packet with your home paperwork.

Yes. If your radon is still 4.0 or higher after we put the system in, we come back and fix it for free, and we pay for the follow-up test. The written warranty covers fan-assisted systems for the life of the fan, and at least five years from install. The test has to be a qualifying test, and we review it before we do the added work. Illinois requires the guarantee terms in the written proposal you accept before we start, and the full terms are in your customer packet.

Yes. Any radon system can ice up if it gets cold enough. The fan pushes warm, damp soil air up the pipe, and in a hard freeze that moisture can frost over inside the top of the pipe and choke the airflow for a while. It clears on its own when temperatures come back up, and there is no reason to shut the fan off. Here is the part worth knowing. Radon risk comes from your average exposure over years, not from one cold snap. EPA bases the health risk on long-term exposure. Say the pipe iced up for two full weeks and the house went back to its untreated level the whole time. That is two weeks out of fifty-two. The other fifty weeks the system is pulling the level down as usual, so your yearly average moves only a little. If the fan sounds different or the gauge sits far from its usual mark after the thaw, send Bill a photo at (815) 370-9682.

We do not recommend one, and on most homes we do not install one. A cap restricts the airflow the fan is working to move, and it turns the exhaust downward, which can push soil air toward a window or door where it can get back into the house. Illinois rules put the discharge up and away from openings for the same reason. A cap also ices up sooner. The air leaving the pipe in winter is warm and damp, and a cap or a wire screen in its path gives that moisture something to freeze onto, so the system can lock up at milder outdoor temperatures than an open pipe would. An open pipe handles rain fine; the little that gets in drains back down the pipe. If a tree hangs over the pipe, Bill may add a leaf guard mesh so it does not fill with leaves. Otherwise, an open pipe is the right call.