Airthings Wave Plus Indoor Air Quality Monitor with Radon Detection - $211

I read a lot of articles about this topic but don't want to start a discussion here. There is no conclusion in the science community but there are animal studies to show a correlation so I prefer to play safe. I am not saying we should wear a tinfoil head but the important fact is there is no reason for a WIFI enabled radon, VOC detector in the bedroom.

coffeebean wrote: ↑ Could be something to consider:
https://www.howtogeek.com/234817/dont-w ... dangerous/

You cannot calibrate these consumer radon detectors. It takes a few hours for initial reading and a few days for a useful average reading (radon level fluctuates thru out the day depending on season, HVAC activities). You can use the same device to test multiple houses, I did that before for my relatives. Let the device sit in a corner without a lot of airflow for a week should give you an idea of the radon level of the house.

jasonchan wrote: ↑ It's not easy to move as there's a fairly lengthy calibration period that it goes through when you reset the device. I suppose you can calibrate it once and move it, but then again it's measuring the trend as opposed to a point in time, so you would still need to have it at a particular location for an extended period of time.

antime1 wrote: ↑ Is Radon a material concern in older Toronto homes?

It can be a concern in any new or old home almost anywhere in North America. You don't know until you know. That said, chances are worse for old homes as they will likely have more cracks letting in radon.

antime1 wrote: ↑ Is Radon a material concern in older Toronto homes?

You can see a national map here: https://health-infobase.canada.ca/datalab/radon-blog.html#map

Good deal. I bought one a few months ago at $225 and it was a deal then.

I bought it basically to do radon testing in my 50 year old home, so having something that provides readings has been great to provide peace of mind about something that is not widely discussed and not widely known about.

For most people I think it makes more sense to buy a single (or dual) testing pack. Costs around $50 online - I know libraries here will loan them out and some other trades will bundle it with other services (ie, my plumber sells a $35 kit). Then you get it tested at a lab and it's not consumer grade. I'm sure everyone has lots of junk in our house, do you really want $200+ thing in your house you won't use again?

Also stick to longer term tests as shorter ones basically do nothing:
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/researchers- ... -1.4714830

Verdic wrote: ↑ For most people I think it makes more sense to buy a single (or dual) testing pack. Costs around $50 online - I know libraries here will loan them out and some other trades will bundle it with other services (ie, my plumber sells a $35 kit). Then you get it tested at a lab and it's not consumer grade. I'm sure everyone has lots of junk in our house, do you really want $200+ thing in your house you won't use again?

Also stick to longer term tests as shorter ones basically do nothing:
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/researchers- ... -1.4714830

The nice thing with this is that you can constantly monitor levels and readings. Levels depend highly on your house and how you air it out. For instance, my house in the summer the radon levels will get to well over 200bq/m3 when it's sealed up with AC on. When I see levels rise, I open windows and waste energy for fresh air (installing ERV would be better). Spring/fall it's fine because windows are open. Winter is actually normally OK as well, as I have a mid efficiency furnace that sucks lots of air out of the basement. If I upgrade to high efficiency, I would expect levels to be similar to summer AC levels.

Even if you don't have radon, you can still monitor indoor air quality CO2 and VOC levels. CO2 spikes especially at night in bedrooms. Lowering that can leave you more refreshed when you wake up. Levels can also be high working from home, and high levels reduce brain function/productivity.

Lastly, you can lend the unit out to friends/family. Ideally levels should be tracked for 9-12 months to get a good idea.
The cheap single use tests only tell you if you have a problem or not, with no insight to how it varies.

I also try to keep levels below the WHO spec of 100bq/m3. USA is 150bq/m3, Canada is lazy at 200bq/m3. Gov't should really force builders to properly air/vapour seal basements, then this would be a non-issue for under $1000/house.

I currently have my Wave lent to a friend. Very easy to just disconnect from my app and add it to his. As a bonus, all of the data on my app is still there, waiting for it to come home.

In the meantime I have a pre-ordered View Plus that I am a big fan of. The wifi works well, and the option to have battery or USB power was a nice touch. Watching the VoC's, CO2, and PM2.5's more than radon these days.

georvu wrote: ↑ How easy is this if want to test multiple homes?

Thought there were issues with using it like that.

For use in multiple houses would it be better to get this on sale? It only is for radon though.

https://www.amazon.ca/Corentium-Airthin ... op?ie=UTF8

We did this, with the device linked. I had it in my home for year. Next gave to parents, they are like 11 months in. Next will go to my sisters home. Created report and reset it, then sent to next home.

82 wrote: ↑ There is no conclusion in the science community but there are animal studies to show a correlation so I prefer to play safe.

Actually the scientific community is in full consensus: WiFi, and EM "radiation" in general, is safe. Not only that, but there is no known mechanism by which it could be dangerous (anyone proving otherwise would be in line for a Nobel).

Common sense also shows it to be safe: cellphones, microwaves, WiFi etc have gone from zero to ubiquitous in barely a generation. If there were any effects at all they would be obvious.

I was surprised at how high the CO2 levels were in my bedroom, and how quickly my presence would cause CO2 levels to rise. I'd wake up with brain fog and just dismiss it as not being a morning person. Now I can see the effect of opening a window, keeping a door open, turning an air filter on, etc. I've made an effort to keep it below 1000 ppm and now I wake up sharp - my brain fog is gone. The charts are also useful to see what times of day are problematic.

And radon is serious enough that I'd want multiple readings in different parts of the house, at different times of year. People always emphasize the importance of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, but ignore radon, which kills far more people in the long term.

golden wrote: ↑ I have this and according to reviews and my radon mitigation professional, they said this is very accurate. Of course as a home owner, these are a bit difficult for us to verify. All I can say is the reading dropped significantly before and after the remediation done by the professional.

Radon increases the chance of lung cancer, so it's worth it for my family.

What kind of remediation did you have done?

I hope you are right, curious how you come up with this "full consensus", especially when IARC lists EMF a possible carcinogenic. This is still a debatable topic from what I gather and I think most believe there is no strong evidence either way and it is probably safe to use. Like I said, I am not telling people to wear a tinfoil hat but it's not a bad idea to reduce exposure. Why do you want a WIFI connected radon detector in the bedroom?

FrancisBacon wrote: ↑ Actually the scientific community is in full consensus: WiFi, and EM "radiation" in general, is safe. Not only that, but there is no known mechanism by which it could be dangerous (anyone proving otherwise would be in line for a Nobel).

Common sense also shows it to be safe: cellphones, microwaves, WiFi etc have gone from zero to ubiquitous in barely a generation. If there were any effects at all they would be obvious.

jasonchan wrote: ↑ The View Plus is coming out - it has direct wifi connection.
https://www.airthings.com/en-ca/view-plus?hsLang=en-ca

I have the wave plus and finding that needing a intermediary phone for connection / updates is very annoying. Also the view plus has a particulate count that will help give a better picture of the air quality.

Well, the View Plus is almost double the price. I rather get two, one for each floor for the price. I agree that it's not convenient but you don't need to check it all the time.

selinis wrote: ↑ What kind of remediation did you have done?

Installation of a radon mitigation system. It's a fan that remove pressure under the foundation where radon comes in. You can google it.

coffeebean wrote: ↑ Could be something to consider:
https://www.howtogeek.com/234817/dont-w ... dangerous/

Playing devil's advocate:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 5118300355

"Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health"

82 wrote: ↑ You cannot calibrate these consumer radon detectors. It takes a few hours for initial reading and a few days for a useful average reading (radon level fluctuates thru out the day depending on season, HVAC activities). You can use the same device to test multiple houses, I did that before for my relatives. Let the device sit in a corner without a lot of airflow for a week should give you an idea of the radon level of the house.

Their website states that radon is sampled once per hour and the reading the device gives is a rolling 24-hour average concentration. So one would have to install this device for at least 24-hours to get a good radon reading. The sampling frequencies for all the other parameters are much higher so one can get a decent reading pretty quickly if you're not interested in radon,

engineered wrote: ↑ It can be a concern in any new or old home almost anywhere in North America. You don't know until you know. That said, chances are worse for old homes as they will likely have more cracks letting in radon.

It's complicated. Older homes have more cracks in the slab etc so more radon gets in, but also they are much less airtight so they often can be better overall than new homes which are very sealed up.

Just had my 2015 built house in Edmonton area mitigated. Was reading over 100 around the house more often than I would like. Had been testing it for almost two years, debating - probably should have done sooner. On a whim I decided to put the AirThings on my sump pit, and it read 909 - then I snap decided to spend the money. I read 10 on average now so there has been a 90% reduction. $1800 from a local contractor, bear in mind I had no rough in.

I bought one a few years ago. I averaged 168 bq/m3 the last year. I have highs in the high 200s. Haven’t decided if I am going to do anything about it yet