Is Your Sump Pit Dangerous?

When you think of sump pit, usually "water" is what comes to mind. However a lot of homes we go to mitigate have sump pits that greatly increase their radon levels. This is due to interior or exterior footer drains. These drains are generally 4 inch pipes that go all the way around the inside or outside of the footer and they have holes in them to gather ground water in order to redirect that water towards the sump pit where it can be safely pumped out.

Though these drains are great for your basement and foundation, they are an easy pathway for radon to enter your home if your sump isn't sealed. This is because of the direct access to all of that soil. 

So in order to reduce radon levels we have to seal the sump, and often times we can put our suction point into the lid and get amazing airflow underneath the slab. The fact that the footer drains allow for an easy path for radon is the same reason we can use it to drastically lower radon levels. We relate the 4 inch drains to highways for airflow, that give us great "communication" throughout the basement. Generally we can get the levels below 1 or 2 pCi/L if the home has footer drains.

So if you have a sump pit and are worried about your radon levels, give us a call at 1-330-274-2390 and we can test your home!