Minneapolis radon test kit questions, answered first

Radon is a colorless, odorless gas from the natural decay of uranium and radium in rock and soil. MDH says it can build up indoors, decay into fine radioactive particles, and damage lungs over years of breathing it. The department estimates 21,000 lung-cancer deaths a year in the United States from radon. There is no scent to warn you. A test is the only way to know the level in a Minneapolis house. See MDH’s radon in homes page.

Because the house, not the block, holds the number. MDH recommends that every Minnesota home be tested. Homes here spend much of the year closed and heated, which MDH ties to higher indoor levels, along with the state’s geology. A tidy bungalow in Tangletown and a warehouse conversion can share a soil source and still test far apart. Looking at the neighbor’s report is the myth EPA already retired.

No. Hennepin County, which contains Minneapolis, is EPA Zone 1. So are Ramsey, Dakota, Washington, Carver, Scott, Wright, and Sherburne. Anoka, Chisago, and Isanti are Zone 2 on the same EPA map. Zone 1 means a predicted average indoor screening level above 4 pCi/L. Zone 2 means a predicted average between 2 and 4. Neither zone is your unit’s result. Elevated houses exist in both. Test the house. The map is on EPA’s zone page.

MDH uses EPA’s action level of 4 pCi/L and recommends a mitigation system at 4 or higher. Between 2 and 4, MDH says a system can be considered so the level is as low as practical. Any radon carries some risk, and zero is not a realistic target. The decision for a homeowner still follows MDH’s two-test path on the testing page, not a single afternoon on a consumer monitor.

Start with a short-term test. MDH says a short-term kit, typically 2 to 7 days, is the screen, and a long-term test of at least 90 days is the better annual average. Which follow-up you use depends on the first result: long-term if the first test is about 2 to 7.9 pCi/L, another short-term if it is about 8 or higher. A long-term test should include some heating weather and some milder weather.

Follow the device, inside MDH’s window of about 2 to 7 days for a short-term screen. Check the expiration date before you open it. Do not end the test early because guests arrive. While it is out, keep the closed-house conditions MDH requires for any test under three months. Ship it as the lab instructions say, and keep a photo of the start and stop times.

Test the lowest level you regularly use. MDH’s example is the basement if you spend more than about 10 hours a week there. In a sale, test the lowest level. Hang or set the kit at least 20 inches above the floor, ideally near breathing height. Keep it 1 foot from exterior walls, 3 feet from exterior windows, and away from drafts, high humidity, and heat sources such as fireplaces and furnaces. Kitchens, baths, and laundry rooms are the wrong rooms.

For any test under three months, MDH says keep windows and exterior doors closed except when people actually enter or leave. Run the heating and cooling the way you normally do. Winter makes this easier because the house is already shut, which is also why MDH calls the heating season the better time for a short-term test. A test with the storm windows off and the sash cracked is not a closed-house test, even if it is only cracked “for air.”

Yes. MDH says weather can change indoor radon and that you should wait to start a short-term test if the weather is severe or unusually windy. Wind over the roof and exhaust fans are two of the pressure effects MDH names. There is no local correction you can multiply by after the fact. Wait for an ordinary week, then test.

If that was your first short-term test, MDH’s chart sends a result in the 2 to 7.9 band to a long-term follow-up, not straight to a contractor. Use the long-term result to decide. At 4 or above, mitigate. From 2 to 3.9, consider a system. A consumer digital monitor may show you the weeks in between, and MDH says not to let that monitor make the mitigation call. Confirm with an approved device.

MDH describes three pressure drivers: the stack effect as warm air leaves the top of the house, wind over the roof, and appliances or fans that exhaust air so soil gas is pulled in to replace it. A closed January week and an open June weekend are different tests. So are a basement family room and a second-floor bedroom. EPA’s Citizen’s Guide says short-term results are less stable than a long-term average. That is expected, not a sign the lab cheated you.

Not for the decisions that matter. MDH says consumer digital monitors usually cost about $100 to $200, have not been fully evaluated, are not approved by the national proficiency programs, and should not be used in a real estate deal or to decide on mitigation. A mail-in short-term kit, a long-term alpha-track, or a licensed professional’s approved continuous monitor are the decision tools. A living-room monitor is optional trend context. The Airthings button does not apply ARS10-10OFF. Once the cart has your name and a shipping address, enter the code yourself for 10% off. We may earn a commission if you buy through those links. That does not change MDH’s rule. Details are on the testing page. American Radon Systems does not install in Minneapolis.

MDH says kits are inexpensive and sold by local health departments, hardware stores, and labs, and that some kits charge the analysis fee when you mail them. Read who the lab is, whether the device is short-term or long-term, and the expiration date. Minnesota residents can use the discounted kit path MDH describes, including the Air Chek discount MDH notes, by starting from MDH’s testing page rather than a random coupon link. For a sale, hire an MDH-licensed measurement professional instead.

Start with MDH’s testing page and the list of local radon contacts linked there. Many local agencies hand out information and some hand out kits. Hardware stores stock them. MDH also points Minnesota residents to a discounted online short-term kit. Hennepin County Public Health repeats those options and publishes its own contact line, 612-543-5200, for environmental health questions. This guide does not sell kits.

Testing and mitigation are not required to close. Disclosure and education are. Since January 1, 2014, before a purchase agreement is signed, the seller discloses known radon concentrations in writing and provides MDH’s “Radon in Real Estate Transactions” brochure. The disclosure covers tests, records, any mitigation system, and whether results at or above EPA’s action level are known. Buyers and sellers negotiate who tests and who pays for a system. MDH wants a licensed professional for the transaction test. Read the real-estate page and the brochure.

MDH says to run an independent short-term test with the system on, to confirm the reduction, and then to retest about every two years so you know the fan still works. Also retest after you finish space, add an addition, tighten the house, or change heating or cooling. A system tag should be on the pipe for installations on or after September 1, 2020. MDH will do a free inspection of a recent system if you ask the Indoor Air Unit. See the mitigation systems page.

No. Hennepin County says sealing is a normal part of the work and, alone, has not been shown to lower radon consistently. MDH and EPA describe an active soil-depressurization system as the method that usually works: pipe, fan, discharge above the roof. Caulk helps that system. It does not replace it. EPA’s Consumer’s Guide is the national version of the same point.

Because Minnesota licenses the work. MDH says anyone who measures or mitigates in a building they do not own or lease must hold an MDH license. A national certification is not a substitute. Ask for the individual license number and check MDH’s provider search. You may still look at NRPP or NRSB as extra context. The state list is the one that matters in Minneapolis. American Radon Systems does not install here.

The Radon Awareness Act is written for the sale or transfer of residential property, not as a substitute for a lease. You can still test the unit you live in. If someone else performs the test, MDH’s licensing rule applies to them. Building-wide fans and roof pipes are the owner’s project. EPA’s guide for tenants is the national renter explainer. This page does not claim a Minneapolis rental statute it has not cited, and it is not legal advice.

Start with the air. EPA’s Citizen’s Guide says radon in water is a later question: test indoor air first, and look at a private well if air is high. MDH treats soil gas as the main Minnesota source and lists well water as a possible extra path, not the default. A municipal supply is a question for the utility. Do not buy a water treatment system because a neighbor on a different well had a high air test.

Test the unit you occupy, at the lowest level that unit actually uses. A garden-level apartment and a duplex over a tuck-under garage are not the same pathway as a sixth-floor flat, and none of them inherit the neighbor’s result. If a professional tests a building they do not own, they need an MDH license. Mitigation for a whole building is an owner or association decision. MDH’s school and child-care pages are separate programs. They do not set the rule for your flat.

Yes. MDH says that since 2009 new Minnesota homes must be built radon-resistant: sealed entry points and a vent pipe, not a fan. The passive stack relies on natural upward flow. An active fan reduces radon more effectively, and MDH no longer keeps a list of builders who include the fan. EPA says to test every new home after move-in even when resistant features are there. If the test is at or above 4, a licensed mitigator can add the fan to the rough-in.

They do not measure radon and they do not replace a mitigation system. Radon has no odor a pet can reliably report, and MDH’s fix is a licensed soil-depressurization system, not a houseplant or a filter marketed for dust. An air purifier may change other parts of indoor air. It is not the method MDH describes for a result at or above 4 pCi/L. Test with a kit.

The risks stack. MDH’s table for lifetime lung-cancer deaths at an average of 4 pCi/L is about 7 in 1,000 people who never smoked, about 62 in 1,000 people who currently smoke, and about 23 in 1,000 in the U.S. general population. MDH calls radon the leading cause of lung cancer for people who do not smoke and the second leading cause for people who do. Quitting has its own help line through Quit Partner. Reducing the house does not replace that, and this guide is not medical care. The table is on MDH’s radon page.

Every 2 to 5 years for a home that has been tested, and you should keep the report. Sooner if you finish a basement, add on, insulate, replace windows, change the heating or cooling system, or install a mitigation fan. After a system is in, MDH’s real-estate brochure tightens the check to about every two years. A first result under 2 pCi/L still comes back around on that 2-to-5-year clock. It is not permanent.

When you need a third party, especially in a purchase. MDH says most people can run their own test if they follow the instructions, and recommends a licensed professional when the result has to be unbiased. The Radon Licensing Act requires the license for anyone testing a building they do not own or lease. A home inspector who offers radon still needs that license. Ask what device will be used and whether it is approved for a transaction. Start at find a measurement professional.

Use the published ranges and do not average them yourself into a fake quote. MDH’s brochure says about $1,500 to $3,000. Hennepin County says about $1,800 on average, roughly $500 to $2,500 depending on the house. MDH also warns against unusually low bids under $1,000. Consumer digital monitors are a separate, smaller spend, about $100 to $200, and they are not the mitigation decision. Kits themselves are described as inexpensive. Financial assistance may exist. Read that page for current rules.

MDH says you may test any time, and that the heating season is the better time for a short-term test because the house is closed and Minnesota homes stay shut much of the year. A long-term test should deliberately include both heating and non-heating months. A July test with windows open does not describe January. If you only have a summer week, keep true closed-house conditions or wait.

The entry path changes. The need to test does not. MDH says a basement gives soil a large contact area and a taller house can increase stack effect. Slab-on-grade houses still have openings. Crawl spaces sit on soil. Manufactured homes with solid skirting can behave like a crawl space. Test the lowest level people use, at least 20 inches off the floor. Do not place the homeowner kit in the crawl space itself. Mitigation for a crawl space is a contractor question. Hennepin County describes sub-slab depressurization as the usual active fix.

MDH’s passive-construction description includes a 3- to 4-inch vent through the roof and flashing so the roof does not leak. An active system uses that same idea plus a fan. An association may care about the penetration, the fan location, and who pays for a common roof. Ask the association with the contractor’s drawing before work starts. This guide does not invent a Minneapolis association statute. The license and the system tag are still required whoever approves the roof.

The Awareness Act expects the known records: test results, whether a system exists, and the MDH brochure before the purchase agreement is signed. Include dates, the device, the floor tested, and whether a licensed professional ran it. If levels were mitigated below the action level, say so and attach the evidence you have. If you only have a consumer monitor screenshot, label it as that and do not pretend it is the MDH-recommended sale test. The realtor page is the longer version for agents.