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Is Our Home Poisoning Us? We Test The Radon Levels In Our Earthen Home

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A big question that we get is about radon in our earthbag home. Any home is subject to radon accumulation, but how do earthen homes compare? We wanted to see what the levels are and if we should be concerned.
Info about radon came from:
www.azdhs.gov/...
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We are Jim and Jessica, a husband and wife team who made the leap from city life to an off-grid homestead in Southern Arizona. We've started this lifestyle equipped only with two Permaculture Design Certificates and a whole lot of determination.
We’d like to share our journey of starting a sustainable homestead from scratch with all its ups, downs, and lessons learned. Watch us take on the challenge of modern homesteading, off-grid life, and turning this barren piece of land into a desert oasis.
#greendreamproject #earthbag #radon

Опубликовано:

26 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 249

@CBsGreenhouseandGarden Год назад

Good info! Thanks for making people be aware of Radon levels. Stay safe my friends.

@judyofthewoods Год назад

It does look like the device may be reading on the high side if there is so little difference between inside and out. The downward trend inside could be due to the building having been closed up for some time and the radon builds up, then, every day you are in and out taking readings and are ventilating in the process.

@terry4988 Год назад

you bringing fresh air every trip down there

@zeds.6783 Год назад

I've been missing y'all the last several days. God bless!

@tvsteve2 Год назад

Sealing the floor down there and side walls would make everything ok!! A friends crawlspace under his Michigan house was near 5 and he covered the dirt with plastic then put a inch or 2 of cement and then his readings were less than 1

@GHumpty1965 Год назад

If I remember right, they did that already, this might be coming from the side walls.

@Peachy08 Год назад

I couldn't help but notice that beautiful sky you had going on behind you!

@angelikabehrend417 Год назад

I'm glad you're checking for radon!

@ericsamuelson5968 Год назад

You might also check the averages up in the loft.

@wendydavis1676 Год назад

It is helping the levels, because you are stirring the air every time you go down there.

@TheUltimateAcres Год назад

Thank you for putting our minds to buying monitors for our homes and root cellars, etc. #Keepupthegreatwork

@ravenrock541 Год назад

I'm betting the downward trend is because of your daily entrance and exit of the room. Test this theory by keeping the room closed up for a few days. If confirmed then you should be fine occupying the room as your daily coming and goings will stir the air enough to keep the concentration levels down. Still add ventilation, though.

@medaily57 Год назад

I was thinking the same thing. If they had not been down there for some time, the radon could have built up, but by going in and out of there, they stirred the air enough to reduce the levels. Another thing, from what I was told when I did testing, radon is a gas that comes THROUGH the ground. It is not off-gassing from the dirt you used to build. That said, it is the opinion of who did my testing, so put however much weight in that statement as you want. It never hurts to have ventilation!

@ravenrock541 Год назад

@@medaily57 I do believe you are correct in that it passes through the ground. Otherwise, any house with a concrete pad foundation would have no issues. I also wonder about the scientific assertion of how dangerous it really is. Humans have lived in caves and in houses on stilts. If Radon was that cancerous we would have noticed the cave dwellers having shorter life spans. To be fair, anything in too high of a concentration is bad for your health, including vitamin C, oxygen, or even water. But after watching the whole pandemic COVID scare, I now know how easily the scientific community can be bought, or bullied, into ignoring the facts in order to push a narrative. It makes one question the whole global warming fear mongering.

@billlyell8322 Год назад

Correct me if I'm wrong but as I understand it radon is a problem when you make house air tight like modern stick built houses wrapped in plastic. Ventilated homes will have less of a problem.

@canuckyank82 Год назад

We had a house in CT build on top of a small rock quarry. The well water had a radon bubbler. The basement had a sealed radon system with a continuous fan pulling the radon out from under the house vertically. But we learned our garage slab was not mitigated and had a reading of around 350!!!. We had the slab drilled and sealed so that a fan was pulling the radon out of the house. We had numbers of about 1.4 after that. Remember that it is a gas and needs ti be ventilated above the roof line to be safe. It is a lung cancer culprit.Thanks for the video.

@jesinbeverly Год назад

When we bought our house back in 1993, we performed Radon tests and levels weren't too bad. No cause for alarm was the consensus. The house was built in 1886. Had no insulation and leaked air like walls were open windows. Over the years, we added insulation, did some air sealing, re-sided the house etc.. In 2012 I started working form home.. My office was in the basement in 2018 I decided to do a radon test in February. Good stack effect etc.. Radon levels were over 12 pCi/L!.. So after patching the cellar floor.. Which had old coal bins under it etc.., I installed my radon system. In the summer months, daily readings are around 0.7. In the winter, I can get daily numbers up to 2.0. The long term average since March of 2018 has been 1.78 as of today. As a back story. It is believed that my grandmothers lung cancer may have been a result of radon. she lived her last 45 years in a mid-century modern house built in 1946 with a piece of granite ledge actually protruding into the living area. Radon was probably high.

@annburge291 Год назад

Granite is often associated with radon unfortunately.

@dazie1357 Год назад

What is the suggested modern day Radon solution’s you added to your house ?

@jesinbeverly Год назад

@@dazie1357 I added a Radon fan that is piped to suck air from beneath the cellar floor and vent it outside. The fan runs 24/7. My system was a retrofit. For new construction, it is required by code in many places. These benefit from having plastic sheeting between the ground and the cellar floor or crawl space. The plastic helps to really concentrate the radon to the pipe/fan inlet.

@elisebeaudoin208 Год назад

@@annburge291 Even granite countertops?

@annburge291 Год назад

@@elisebeaudoin208 Negligible. It's houses built on granite outcrops, on granite boulders that are known to have radon issues. The situation is made worse in cold climates with the tendency to have highly insulated houses, all cracks sealed, and recycling air systems.

@Theimpromptulife Год назад

I love your home, it’s amazing what you have done yourself. I can imagine how long it takes, especially all the choices and problem solving before tasks. Been very impressed with what you have done.

@roald48 Год назад

For eight days no progress on the dome! It's going to be a long, long, long build before you can move in.☹

@honthirty_ Год назад

Why are you surprised? Two "art majors" with no other visable means of economic support than generating internet content.

@ourselfreliantlife Год назад

We're always working on the dome. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and you can check out our stories on RU-vid.

@luadraponies Год назад

Read of a man in USA that built a lovely big home from granite from his own mountain forest. He didn’t live long. Investigators found the indoor radiation was huge, and all the rock outside was charged with it. The earth is full of it, and now the skies.

@danielchamorro1288 Год назад

Gotta love that they have many of the same shirts, to be continous in their 8 day radon testing! ;)

@SteveVi0lence Год назад

I like your channel. From 1951-63 there were 100 aboveground nuclear weapons testing and Arizona was downwind from the fallout. I think you're okay. Even cement blocks for buildings are radioactive. But with a short half life I think y'all are good. It's all relative. Y'all are less exposed to toxins than people living in cities.

@hulkflattt7854 Год назад

Never even heard of radon! thanks for educating us on this ☢☢☢

@flyoverurbangarden4315 Год назад

Interesting video. The sky looks beautiful.

@johnkosakowsky1168 Год назад

Our house was 9 (we got the pump). Our inspector only heard of one (documented) case. Man moved into house at 39, non smoker, and died 3 years later of lung cancer. Only reason they figured out this case is new owners got radon reading so inspector starting asking around. By the way reading was over 90. So run to get tested.

@elaineshort5757 Год назад

You can also test inside your trailer. To see what level different between levels

@RedandAprilOff-Grid Год назад

Interesting results! Radon is definitely a concern here in far southern Arizona. We put some pipe and venting under our floor, and we have an open upper vent in each bedroom. 😎🏜️

@ingridbrowne6083 Год назад

In Ireland we use a radon barrier on the floor of all buildings. It's a red fabric, plastic I expect.

@lamatus7007 Год назад

Very interesting maybe the fact that you’re going in and out of the basement bedroom is leading to a little bit better numbers? That would be a good thing because once you’re living down there the number Will stay good? 😅 And those are some beautiful skies you have behind you those clouds in the mountains in the back look amazing😊

@mr.waynes7555 Год назад

yous guys should get a certified company or state entity to find out....just to be on the safe side, yes even if it costs you some cash to find out, it's worth it for the peace of mind, and your health!

@candaceaustin4258 Год назад

You are very thorough. I'm grateful you are and listen to the valid concerns of your people. We are your people

@albertdehn8381 Год назад

Thanks for sharing 👍😀

@ahbushnell1 Год назад

Ask your county extension service about it.

@ericjohnson1008 Год назад

Interesting, hopefully y'all know and can figure out what is best for your home and living spaces.

@tomlipscombe4258 Год назад

I think you need to look at the basement as a confined space because gases and fumes etc will sink to the lowest point in house your basement So to prevent toxic build up go ventilation is important . Ventilation and heat exchanger pull fresh air from out side cool it with the cool air in side and is where I would focus . You guys are doing a great job 👍

@rodneyj.6875 Год назад

We all have pass away sometime as long you live pass 80 that is a good thing.

@barryadams2557 Год назад

High altitude deserts always have this issue.

@mountainloversoff-grid155 Год назад

Good advice thank you.

@stanleybest8833 Год назад

Read Hunting Badger by local author Tony Hillerman. There is an explanation of radiation levels in Arizona.

@mzimmerman1988 Год назад

Educational, thanks! I think good ventilation is a good idea for general air quality. Good airflow to control dust and oxygen levels will make your new home a lot more pleasant, in my opinion.

@shirleymhernandez4197 Год назад

You are awesome thank you do much for explaining all this and it dose make sense

@malikto1 Год назад

Our radon runs from

@kellyharris1217 Год назад

Thanks for the information. Change your shirt though. Not bagging on you. Just didn't look like it was 6 days. I looked at the sky behind you to now it was 6 days😊

@glenlongstreet7 Год назад

Radon = Granite. Don't seal up your house if you have a granite foundation. Which is more important - your heating bill or your health?

@DesertNails Год назад

Gosh I assumed the outside air would test to 0.

@markpashia7067 Год назад

After the above ground atomic tests in that part of the nation??? Not likely. Plus all the uranium mining that was done out west. And radon is so naturally occurring that anywhere with granite is also an area of concern. That meter is not designed for outdoor testing so the results really mean very little to nothing.

@HalsPals Год назад

First day was highest probably because the Radon gas was trapped below but opening the hatch continued to vent the air out somewhat. Well, that's my story anyway..... ;)

@rickvangunten4800 Год назад

The same reading in open air may mean you need to get the unit tested and recalibrated.

@ithacacomments4811 Год назад

Most States have maps that show radon levels for each location throughout the State. In New York State, residents can order low cost radon testing kits from the State. The kit is returned to NYS for processing. The results are returned by mail to the resident, and also recorded in the NYS database.

@baddog9320 Год назад

actually there is a lot of Uranium in Arizonia. This is a big concern in gold mining there. Most overlook it. I've heard a lot of it from Southern Arizonia miners.

@joseortiz5965 Год назад

Awesome

@solexxx8588 Год назад

Put in a solar powered ERV to constantly change the air inside. It will also remove excess humidity, CO2 and other airborne contaminants.

@solexxx8588 Год назад

An ERV will maintain the indoor temperature all 4 seasons and change the contaminated air every 2 hours. A fan will just cool the space in winter and heat the space in summer. A ventilator fan is not a solution as it will increase both your heating and cooling cost. You only need a small ERV to replace the air in the basement area to get rid of radon.

@offgridrooster Год назад

Thank you for this video! Very informative. At least you can get a baseline reading and act accordingly to mitigated the issue and make sure you make the necessary adjustments. ☮️🙏☯️

@patrickforbes6745 Год назад

I lived 35 years in an earth sheltered home and didn’t worry about radon because I was more concerned about oxygen levels. Sleep in a room and you consume oxygen. I changed the air constantly in all the rooms and crawl space. Brought in fresh air and exhausted air from the wet spaces like bathrooms and laundry.

@trevormiller1366 Год назад

Yeah you would probably be better off with a rattle snake 🐍 level indicator, I reckon they would be more of a terrifying concern! Spiders too, better keep them accounted for! 🕷

@annburge291 Год назад

Love how you are testing your water and air for radon. A relatively easy way to ventilate an underground room is to install a metal chimney. You have an opening at basement floor level as the air intake. The chimney goes up through the ground level floor and then curves out and goes through the wall on the most sunny side of the construction. Getting through earthbag is hard work so perhaps slightly change a window or your door depending what is easier Outside, the metal chimney is painted black. As the sun heats the air in the chimney, colder air is drawn out of the basement. Keep and opening in the ground floor as an air intake. With the mass you have, the temperature of the basement will hardly change.

@AnnFBug Год назад

Someone’s going to get us confused! They just need to know that the one with the two ‘s’s on the end of her name only just scraped her physics O level exam and doesn’t remember much of it, whereas the one with the slightly shorter name appears to be an expert!

@annburge291 Год назад

@@AnnFBug only in building science (thermal, acoustics and lighting). I'm sure you are an absolute expert in other life skills and could teach me something fascinating. Nice to meet you.

@paulvanhouts7291 Год назад

I was thinking this type of ventilation would be great for the purpose. It doesn’t require any power, just the heat warming the air in the chimney/ flue. It could also pull warm air from inside the dome making it cooler.

@baddog9320 Год назад

BTW If you want to make a house out of sand bags. That is 100% safe from radon. I know of such ground. And they will be very happy for you to take it. Ok after you finish reading this if you are interested. reply I have to remember the name of the town. it about 70 southwest of St Louis. And there are mountains of the mined tailings. Its a EPA problem. See the trailings are full of lead residue. And there is a name for it. ( which I can't think of) You may even be able to have the state of Missouri, or the mining companies to ship it to you at their cost. There is a lot in those hills of tailings. BTW would also be nice for a fallout shelter. But unless you missed it. there is danger of lead. I can't believe I can't remember the town or the name for this soil. I use to live a few miles from it. Once it was a huge industry there. I know the highway the hills are next to is Highway 21. They are a couple miles past Washington state park going south. On the left side. The Hills are a couple miles long. in the Area there are more hills like these. There are a few tiny towns there that once this was their economy. lol. I remember many times hearing about these hills. But Didn't know for years what they were or that what these hills were. The name is goofy sounding. really wish I could remember what its called. But anyhow. its a fortune to the person that can market it. Its costing the mines millions in EPA fines yearly. I believe these and many other tailing piles are next to rail road tracks. So shipping would be easy. Just ship by rail.

@danfettig9438 Год назад

A lot of people pay good money to sit in old mine shafts to breath the radon to help with different illnesses. After looking into the information I could find about radon, I was convinced I wouldn’t worry about it.

@markthaggard3323 Год назад

Your radon levels will likely go up when you seal your walls; therefore, the ventilation will be even more important. I wonder if the fluctuations in the levels you are seeing is due to changes in temperature. It would be good if you did a correlation

@coryart Год назад

My theory is that no one has been going to the basement of the house for a while so that at the beginning of the tests the reading was higher, as the room was a bit stuffy. Each day he went down in the room he gradually improved the stuffiness with his activity. If my theory is correct, if his small amount of activity improved the reading, then once they install ventilation it should dramatically improve.

@allenclayton4162 Год назад

An active fan in-line in your black pipe will get that really low. I bet just you coming and going more often is exhausting the build up.

@rosaolbera8768 Год назад

Grate video

@dherrington2001 Год назад

Great information. Thank you!

@ralfus37 Год назад

Calibration should have been done outside where there would be minimum levels. I suggest you re-take the test. Been watching for a few years and admire your diligence.

@shirleymhernandez4197 Год назад

Aww rge quails birds and babies aww love ❤️ them

@ithacacomments4811 Год назад

Good to do a yearly radon test. Testing is not a one and done thing. Conditions can increase or lower radon levels as construction goes ahead.

@robinmarie5180 Год назад

When are ya gonna actually start working on the dome?

@ourselfreliantlife Год назад

We haven't stopped

@wadeprior5203 Год назад

Hey guys doing you guys should use the carport delivered that way spending all that extra money and time that way you have your water everything got your kitchen got your bathroom got your bathroom toilet and everything right there it's nice and safe the wind doesn't mess with it and that way it's already completed then you got your chickens with you you know on the other side and a nice carport day

@honthirty_ Год назад

Punctuation: the marks, such as period, comma, and parentheses, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning. "you will notice that no punctuation is used"

@markpashia7067 Год назад

The initial high reading followed by the drops for days likely had to do with Jim going down into the room to check it daily (?) and that stirring the air around. I would set up the machine and leave the area for a whole week and if that opening will be covered once you live there, I would cover it as well for the week. You might not see the daily readings but they really do not matter much. The one week undisturbed average is what you need to know for safety. And to be honest, if that came in over three, I would do a send off lab sample to verify the home testing results since I would have trouble trusting that machine if it cost less than five hundred dollars. It could lead to a false sense of security. If a lab test came in close, then you know the machine is close enough and can monitor over time in the future and trust it. But without a lab test it is hard to trust a cheap machine like that. The outside test actually means nothing as it is not designed for that purpose and anything could make it read false. One of those rocks next to the location might be off gassing. Many other possible false readings in wrong conditions that are outside the design specs.

@elainedegoede6276 Год назад

Very interesting. Thank you. Something new I learned.🥰

@handimanjay6642 Год назад

I buy my tees in 5 or 6 per pack. All gray pockets tees. I don’t care what others says or think if I wear the same color all week. Unless you want to buy them for me, wash, fold, and put away you can hush up.

@tedwalker1370 Год назад

There are some caves in Montana where people pay to sit in to absorb the radon gas. They believe it is a cure for cancer. Don't know?

@kimberleysimonns8964 Год назад

I don´t know much about radon effects, but I do know that a bedroom (by law in my country) has to be ventilated and sunshine iluminated at least in 15% of the area, that is because humans exhale carbon dioxide, and moist, and also does every construction materials, and that makes a micro climate for fungus, virus and bacterias to incubate, so for healthy reasons sunshine and fresh air exchange is very important in a living space. and a bed room is the place you´ll expend at least 6 hours a day, and your sheets and bed has to be exposed to sun at least for an hour a day to kill and control all those things

@diydarkmatter Год назад

good to test them numbers aint to bad seeing how Arizona was down wind of the 1940s atomic bomb tests . from both sites Nevada and new Mexico and Mississippi also had testing there as well . so your meter might be a little higher there then in other places in the states . a little computer fan to exhaust the room would be enough and you could run it off a small solar panel .

@ezforsaken Год назад

thanks for the text explaining stuff, I liked it.

@ithacacomments4811 Год назад

I lived in a basement apartment in New York State that tested at 20 in the middle of Winter.. The landlord would not believe me when I showed him the test results. He said that I must have done the rest wrong. I moved out.

@tlc1718 Год назад

Thanks that was very interesting a need to know Good job ✌🙏👍

@MJ-wz6jo Год назад

I would check u tube videos on professional radon mitigation. U may need a fan to draw it out.

@grandmasewhappyhomestead187 Год назад

I have a family member that in their area they've had homes that had higher radon levels here in minnesota. So this family member put in a filtration system in their home in their basement. So that it would filter things so that there would be no risk of any radon levels since they want to be able to put a bedroom in the basement and have a hangout area. It was quite expensive but they said it was worth it to protect their family and children. I know it has some kind of venting system. The house is under 20 years old

@rhymereason3449 Год назад

What kind of filtration system filters radon? It's a gas...

@grandmasewhappyhomestead187 Год назад

@Rhyme& Reason I can find out what it's called. It is a gas but it is a special kind of system that filtrates it from the ground. Some of the areas where my family member lives the levels are higher. So as a precaution for their children and their family they had this system put in .

@rhymereason3449 Год назад

@@grandmasewhappyhomestead187 Interesting... maybe it just intercepts and redirects it before it infiltrates into the home? No need to bother - I can Google...

@bondpaz Год назад

Interesting testing for radon. I’m catching up. We have been in Texas visiting family. ❤

@mrjr69 Год назад

your first test maybe high sense nothing was moving down there and with you going down checking it moved the air around every day

@philmaness5983 Год назад

I was going to suggest the same.

@jmbpinto73 Год назад

Put a ventilation fan ( like those usually found in WC), drawing air from your basement to the outside, and leave some sort of gap or opening from the dome upstairs at the oposite side from the exhaust fan. You will be just fine. The worst case for radon in grund floor rooms at houses built with exposed granith. Even those can be ventilated and be safe. If you don't use the downstairs as living space, and mostly for storage, you will not hang out there long enough to be harmed.

@Screamingpinesfarm Год назад

build a box big enought to fit the required spacing leave on the ground outside and see what your reading are ?

@philliperskine4986 Год назад

radon comes from the amount of uranium in the soil. I am thinking you may have to seal your bottom floor to keep it from coming up through the dirt. I was also wondering if a spray foam barrier would help to keep it lower. Do y'all have old uranium mines in your area? In New Mexico they are leaching in the water table they were not closed off.

@stephaniemorales744 Год назад

From your test it seemed to change with the temp. Cooler reading higher, warmer reading lower.

@fisherus Год назад

Amazing, another awesome good weather week goes by without any disearnablle construction being done seen by this viewer. I imagine that you might have some other reason pop up not to get a chance to have to live between bags of dirt!

@goodnewsgal9401 Год назад

The RV is the best living possible. Personally I would not have any of it that they are constructing. One big mess!

@ourselfreliantlife Год назад

One video a week on the construction isn't enough?

@kerrymandry262 Год назад

What projects are YOU doing?

@chrisbonney7563 Год назад

The Amazon reviews are pretty poor for this model, I would not trust the readings.

@ZonDog Год назад

Wow, radon can be scary stuff. Glad you are testing guys!

@daisyrumley3321 Год назад

When yall going to work on the house, testing is great but I'm interested in the house build and yall have not done much in the build in a while.

@ourselfreliantlife Год назад

We had one out last Saturday on the build and we'll have another one out tomorrow. 😁

@markbrooks5278 Год назад

The last test was not set in an open area, you had it close to that rock

@anthonyoneill5251 Год назад

Chalk plaster is the the one you should be thinking it acts as a barrier for the radiation

@ralphdixon6207 Год назад

Hi!I would go with the first reading ...because the building was closed up..and everyday you open the door and let feast air in..thanks for the info????

@angelikabehrend417 Год назад

I wonder what the temperature would be like, if the ceiling would be insulated?

@grantlouw3182 Год назад

How will you manage ventilation without losing / adding heat?

@rickcrippen5180 Год назад

You should test it in your mobile home.

@danrose3621 Год назад

Great information, but a little concerned over what I see in the shape of the dome. When is the next exterior skin going on? Looking a little rough right now