Radon Testing in Colorado Springs
Testing is the only way to know your number. Radon has no smell, no color, and no warning signs, and in Colorado Springs and the rest of El Paso County the odds are not in your favor: El Paso County Public Health reports that over 40 percent of homes tested in the county from 2005 to 2023 exceeded the EPA action level. We connect you with an independent, Colorado-licensed measurement professional, or point you to the county and state kit programs if a do-it-yourself test fits your situation better. Either way, you end up with a number you can act on.
The honest starting point: you may not need to hire anyone
A self-administered kit is a legitimate first test. El Paso County Public Health sells kits at its laboratory at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, and CDPHE offers free kits, one per household per year, while supplies last. Where a licensed professional earns their fee is when the result has to hold up: a home purchase, a lease dispute under Colorado's rental radon law, or a borderline reading where a mitigation decision rides on the number.
Test types and when each one fits
Short-term tests
Two to seven days with a charcoal canister or electret device. The fastest way to learn whether your home has a problem, and the format most people start with. Closed-house conditions matter for an accurate reading.
Long-term tests
More than 90 days with an alpha-track detector. Radon levels swing with seasons and weather, so a long-term test captures your true year-round average and is the better basis for a mitigation decision near the action level.
Continuous monitors for transactions
Real estate deals run on deadlines, so licensed measurement professionals typically set a continuous radon monitor for 48 hours. It logs hourly readings and flags tampering, which gives both sides a defensible number.
Retesting after mitigation or remodeling
Test again after a mitigation system goes in, after finishing a basement, or after major foundation work. The EPA also recommends retesting every two years even when nothing changed, because homes and soil paths shift.
How a professional test visit works
- 1
The measurement professional places the device in the lowest lived-in level, away from drafts, exterior doors, and humidity sources, following closed-house protocol.
- 2
The device runs for the required period, typically 48 hours for a continuous monitor in a transaction.
- 3
You receive a written report with the result, the conditions, and what the number means against the EPA action level.
- 4
At or above 4 pCi/L, the next step is a mitigation quote. Below it, you get a recommended retest schedule.
- 5
Records go in your file. Colorado sale contracts now ask sellers to disclose known radon test results, so the report keeps its value.
Why levels run high here
The Colorado Geological Survey explains that radon comes from the decay of natural uranium in rock and soil and is found in all parts of Colorado. Around Pikes Peak the source is close at hand: the USGS identifies weathered Pikes Peak granite as a source of uranium and its decay products. From Monument on the Palmer Divide down to Fountain in the creek valley, every foundation sits over some version of that geology. County-by-county numbers live in our El Paso County radon levels guide.
After the test
A result at or above 4 pCi/L moves you to radon mitigation, and the same request form covers both. Selling or buying? The real estate radon page covers testing on transaction deadlines across El Paso County and Teller County.