It is chilly outside, we are having a very chilly spring this year. I am noticing more than usual, because every day almost all the windows in the house are opened wide, to let the radon escape, to lower the levels inside the house where we spend most of our time. We can’t, and won’t, spend the money to heat the great outdoors, so the heat is turned off. We close all the windows at night, and when we do the radon levels rise quickly into the danger zone. This morning it was 17C (62F)in the house, and the radon level was high. 17C is a great temperature for sleeping, under a cozy quilt, but not so great for sitting quietly with a morning coffee.
The first thing we tried, to lower the radon levels, was to seal all obvious openings and cracks in the basement floor and walls. It was the least expensive, and least invasive strategy. This reduced the radon a bit, but did not lower it to a safe level. Back to the drawing board.
I have been continuing to research alternatives for reducing the radon levels in the house. The levels in the basement are exactly the same as the levels on the main floor of the house, where we spend our time. This means that the efficient forced air system is effectively distributing not only the heat, but the radon gas also. We have been moving the radon detector around the last few weeks to see how the radon is distributed in the house, to gauge the effect of opening different combinations of windows. If the radon levels are reduced in the basement, they are reduced in the whole house, at least that is the way it works in this house.
As I sit here in my easy chair, bundled up in a heavy sweater, I can hear the drill droning away in the basement. Last week I made a decision on what our next step toward radon mitigation would be. We purchased an ERV unit to install in the basement. In theory this will reduce the radon levels in the basement, as it moves stale air out, and clean air in. If the basement level is reduced, in theory, the radon level on the main floor will be reduced. So we put our money where our theories are. Attila is working at installing an ERV unit himself, a slow process, as a large diameter opening in the concrete basement wall needs to be made. Thus the drone of the drill.
The installation of the ERV will take quite a while, cutting holes through concrete walls takes time. Learning how to install something for the first time takes time. It will take as long as it takes, and the house will be cold during the day until the job is done. Since it is so cold this week, tonight I will turn the heat on overnight, just to warm the thermal mass in the house, make it feel a little warmer during waking hours when the windows are open again.
I’ve been thinking about the radon levels here, they are high in this area. I wonder if the passing of three senior women on our short little street, is related to having been stay-at-home wives here for years and years, in homes with dangerous levels of radon? The men, who are either alive or lived longer, spent time at work, away from the home. I know there is a significant effect on lung cancer levels for people exposed long term to high radon levels, but I wonder if other health issues are also significantly affected, less obvious, without the correlation being recognized. Science is great, but you have to ask the questions, and research the questions, to have answers. I’ve found no research so far that explores the correlation between all health issues and radon exposure. In fact, since radon isn’t even on most homeowners radar, I can’t imagine how this research could be conducted.
After having three helpful medical consultations last week, there will be three more this week! We are grateful to have our GP, and the specialists who are helping us with our medical issues, so far, so good.
I expected Ginger to react negatively to the open window situation here at Mist Cottage. In the past he has complained loudly when the windows were open. He has risen to the occasion! Having become accustomed to the open windows, and the low temperature, he seems content to sleep more. I found it hard to believe he could actually sleep more, it seemed like he slept almost all the time as it was. But he surprised me, he is sleeping more. Right now he is cuddled up with his brush, fast asleep, he loves that brush.
Worldly
Weather
7°C
Date: 12:00 PM EDT Friday 1 May 2026
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.4 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 7.2°C
Dew point: 0.0°C
Humidity: 60%
Wind: S 11 km/h
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“I say luck is when an opportunity comes along, and you’re prepared for it.”
Denzel Washington
1954 –
Ginger is just hunkering down and staying warm until you return his world to the way he believes it should be. And really, it’s much more effective than complaining about something he doesn’t understand.
Yes Wendy, I believe you are right, Ginger is staying warm and waiting it out. I think warmer weather will arrive before the job will be done, maybe even next week! Hang in there Ginger! 🙂