Is my radon system working?

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.

Often yes. An open sump is a common soil-gas path. We typically seal the sump with a lid that still allows pump service and access. Sealing alone is not a full mitigation system, but a proper lid is usually part of a good design when a sump is present.

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).

Almost always. We work on RadonAway, Fantech, Festa, and other common radon fan brands, including systems another company installed. If you are not sure what you have, text Bill a photo of the fan label and the U-tube manometer.

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.

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.