How to run a short-term radon test in your Minneapolis home

MDH’s path for your Minneapolis home is a short screen, then a second approved test before you spend on a fan. These steps follow the testing page. They are not the Colorado rules, so read the height and the room again if you have tested in another state.

Check the expiration date, pick the lowest level you use, and keep your home closed the whole time. Heating season is the better backdrop, and a windstorm is a reason to wait. Then follow MDH’s second test before you decide. A monitor can sit in the room while you wait, but it does not replace the follow-up.

Check the kit, then pick the room

Read the instructions and the expiration date. Test the lowest level you regularly use. If you spend more than about 10 hours a week in the basement, test there. If you are buying, test the lowest level of your Minneapolis home.

Set it at least 20 inches off the floor

Prefer breathing height. Keep the kit 1 foot from exterior walls, 3 feet from exterior windows, and away from drafts, kitchens, baths, laundry, fireplaces, and furnaces.

Close your Minneapolis home

Any test under three months needs closed-home conditions. Windows and exterior doors stay shut except when you come and go. Run heating and cooling as you normally do. The heating season is the better time for your short-term test.

Wait out severe weather

If the week is unusually windy or the weather is severe, do not start. MDH says weather changes indoor radon. There is no correction factor to apply afterward.

Run the short-term test for 2 to 7 days

Follow the device inside that window. Keep your start and stop notes. Mail the kit the way the lab requires, including any analysis fee the instructions mention.

Take the second test MDH asks for

A first result around 0 to 1.9 pCi/L means retest in 2 to 5 years. Around 2 to 7.9, follow with a long-term test. Around 8 or higher, follow with another short-term test. Mitigate at 4 or above on that follow-up. A consumer monitor does not replace it.

These steps match the HowTo structured data on this page. Follow the instructions packed with your device if they are stricter.