More and more people are becoming health conscious these days.
People are watching what they eat and exercising on a regular basis.
They don't just want to live longer; they want to live healthier.
But not everyone has the time or the ability to join a gym. Getting ready and the commute itself takes up enough time as it is.
Then you have to hope that no one is using the machines you need, and there's always that awkward guy grunting in the mirror you have to deal with.
That's why more and more people are turning their basements into a home gym.
With just a few pieces of equipment, you can replicate just about anything in your basement that you can do in a gym, without the hassle or the membership fee.
But are there any side effects to working out in your basement?
One of them that you'd likely never know about is working out in elevated levels of radon.
Your basement is prone to higher levels of radon, so you have to wonder how many people are unknowingly exposing themselves to cancer-causing gas.
Concerned your basement may have high levels of radon? Learn what you can do with this blog post: "Protect Your Home With These Radon Detectors."
Table Of Contents
- What Is Radon
- Radon and a Healthy Lifestyle
- Testing For Radon Is Simple
- Removing Radon
- Get Your Home Tested
What Is Radon?
So what is radon and why should you worry about it?
Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that comes from the soil below your home's foundation.
It's radioactive, and in high doses it can cause lung cancer. It's actually the second leading cause of lung cancer, right behind cigarette smoke, with over 21,000 deaths a year.
Radon is heavier than air, so lower areas of homes and buildings are usually more affected.
Basements, rooms over concrete slabs, and any areas over crawlspaces are typically the most vulnerable to radon gas. That makes your basement gym very prone to elevated levels of radon.
The more of it you breathe, combined with high concentrations of it will contribute to the risk factor of it harming you in your basement gym.
Before you start huffing and puffing in your basement gym, you should be sure you aren't putting yourself at risk of developing lung cancer.
Radon And A Healthy Lifestyle
So what is radon and why should you worry about it?
Radon is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that comes from the soil below your home's foundation.
It's radioactive, and in high doses it can cause lung cancer. It's actually the second leading cause of lung cancer, right behind cigarette smoke, with over 21,000 deaths a year.
Radon is heavier than air, so lower areas of homes and buildings are usually more affected.
Basements, rooms over concrete slabs, and any areas over crawlspaces are typically the most vulnerable to radon gas. That makes your basement gym very prone to elevated levels of radon.
The more of it you breathe, combined with high concentrations of it will contribute to the risk factor of it harming you in your basement gym.
Before you start huffing and puffing in your basement gym, you should be sure you aren't putting yourself at risk of developing lung cancer.
Testing For Radon Is Simple
There are a countless number of radon test kit manufacturers around the country.
You can get a long-term test or a short-term test.
Most experts will recommend a long-term test to get more accurate results because of how much the radon levels can fluctuate from day to day.
The test itself is very easy. You simply put the sampler in the room you want to test, keep it there as long as the instructions tell you to, and then you send the sampler to a laboratory for analysis.
Once the lab has analyzed your sample, they will send it back to you along with instructions on what to do next.
The EPA says that if your levels are higher than four picocuries per liter, you need to take action to reduce the amount of radon in your home.
The World Health Organization actually takes it a step further and says that you should take action if your levels are higher than 2.7 pCi/L.
Most test kits will cost you around $20 and give you an understanding of the risk in your home.
You can also buy personal use radon monitors that you can move to different rooms around your home to monitor your levels.
Removing Radon
Unfortunately, there's not an easy way to get rid of the radon in your home. There's not a quick fix.
Radon is radioactive and constantly decaying, so when you have elevated levels of radon in your home, there is new gas regularly replacing the gas that is decaying.
If your levels are high, the only way to reduce it is by installing a permanent radon mitigation system.
Opening your windows and letting your home "air-out" isn't enough.
Mitigation systems create a constant vacuum in the soil under your basement, slab, or crawlspace.
When the gas works its way up from the soil beneath your house, it's captured by the mitigation system and vented above your roof line.
Once there, the radon dissipates into the atmosphere.
There are nationally certified radon mitigation system installers who have been trained to fix the problem properly.
Most radon contractors will provide you with a warranty that promises a solution.
This, unfortunately, isn't a DIY project, and you will need to call the professionals.
Get Your Home Tested
If you spend a lot of time working out in your basement, you should be sure to have your home tested for radon. You don't want to be working out in an area that could be giving you lung cancer.
A test kit for radon will cost about the same as a new pair of gym socks, and if necessary, a mitigation system will cost about the same as an elliptical machine.
It would be irresponsible not to get the test.
If you'd like to have your home professionally tested, contact the team at Radon Eliminator.
They have years of experience in the industry, and they will be able to tell you if your basement gym is safe or not.
If you end up needing a mitigation system, they can have that installed for you as well.
Click the button below to get started.
