First Alert Radon Gas Test Kit, RD1

Chances are if you are reading reviews for a carbon-based Radon test kit, you already have a general idea of how they work and what they test for. This test kit comes in a small box, it contains a sealed tray of a charcoal-like substance that you sit in the spot where you want to run the test for 48-72 hours. After that time, you put the kit back into the included envelope along with a completed information card, seal it up, and mail it away for testing to a lab. Simple enough. To sum it all up, I was very satisfied with this product from start to finish. Here is my review, focusing on a few key areas that I feel need to be addressed based on reading the product information and other customer reviews: Ease of Use: I found this kit to be as simple to use as it could possibly have been. The only contents of the box are exactly what is necessary. The instructions are short, but thorough enough that they provide you with everything needed to maximize your chances of a successful and accurate test. It goes over the basics of how to use the kit, recommended places to place it, conditions your house needs to be in, etc. Once you've run it for 48-72 hours, you just record the necessary information on the info card, drop it in the envelope, and off it goes to the lab. Hidden/Additional Fees: The price of this kit includes the lab analysis and results reporting, so there are no "hidden" fees. However, the kit gives you the option to pay an additional $10 for "rush processing". I did not opt for this, so I can't comment on how much faster the results would have been, but I assume this would be useful for things like real estate transactions. This test was only for my own information in a house I already own, so speed of results wasn't a top priority for me. The only other potential "hidden" fee is the cost of postage to return the kit. The return envelope states that you must attached 5 first-class postage stamps. So that's a little over $2 of postage required to send the kit in for testing. Not going to break the bank, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Speed of Receiving Results: This is the main area I wanted to focus my review on. There are many other reviews that are complaining about how they sent away their kit and never heard back again, or had a very difficult time interfacing with the lab to get their final results. Like I mentioned above, I sent my kit back without opting for the rush processing service. My test finished on Sunday, January 13th. It was sealed in an envelope and dropped in the mail on the morning of Monday, January 14th. Standard first-class mail. I received my results back in the form of an email with a PDF attachment today, Monday January 21st. Seven days total for results, including the time it spent going from Maryland to Texas in the mail! I couldn't believe it when I received the email. Many others complained of it taking 2-4 weeks to get results, or never hearing back at all. I can only speak for my one experience, but I was extremely satisfied with the speed. Accuracy of Results: I chose to use this carbon-based test kit as a supplement to another kit I had purchased, the Safety Siren Pro Series HS71512 3 Radon Gas Detector . The Safety Siren Pro kit is significantly more expensive, but gives a short term (2 day average) reading as well as a long term (7 day average) reading. I placed both a few feet apart when I ran the test. My Safety Siren digital reader showed a result of .8 pci average over a 7 day test, and the results I received back from this First Alert test kit had a reading of .7 pci. This is extremely close, and made me feel confident that both kits are likely to be accurate. All in all, I rate this product a full five stars based on my experience, and I would have no issue recommending this kit to anyone else looking for a short term radon reading. Follow the simple directions, and you'll be satisfied.

Peace of Mind Product! My husband was diagnosed with Lung Cancer.. and although he was a smoker, I felt it might be worth testing for radon gas in our older home, just in case. This kit was super easy to just expose as directed, package up in 2 days, and mail out. Results returned very quickly (with text alerts included). Recommend this easy to use kit if you're concerned about Radon Gas.

The instructions were clear and thorough. The test we did was accurate and we did receive results right away. It gave us a peace of mind. The shipping took a bit to get to the lab so I was concerned with timing on the results. I was a bit disappointed that we also had to pay for shipping which the cheapest option was $12. I wanted a one stop shop rather than pay for the kit and for shipping. The results were clear and detailed. They gave next steps in the event radon was detected. They explained the numbers and data and its nice to include for buyers if you’re selling your house

Accurate and easy to use

The first radon gas test kit I used was from the local DHHS - so was the second and the third. Why so many tests? Well, it just so happened that their test kits were very easy to forget and even easier to misread the instructions on. All information was written directly on their test package, such as start and stop time, which room you were testing, etc. If you failed to circle something in all that scrunched-up mess, the test was unusable. I bought this First Alert Radon Gas Test Kit because the third DHHS kit I used (and got right) showed quite a high number - almost three times the action level of 4.0 pCi/L. The First Alert test kit was very simple to complete and offered many advantages compared to the "government" kit, such as a separate form to fill out for the testing information (more room, harder to miss questions, etc.) and it was much easier to conduct. You take the test tray (containing carbon) and remove it from the package, placing it flat on an object per the instructions. If you're testing the basement, the box can stay on your kitchen table to remind you. A couple of days later, place the test tray in the included, self-sealing envelope and mail it out. You can receive the test results via fax, e-mail, snail mail, etc., or a combination thereof. Pros- It was easy to conduct the test. The separate test form gives plenty of room to fill out the necessary information. The test results are quick (I think it took two weeks at the most). It's cheap. Cons - None, unless you count finding out you have 18.4 pCi/L Radon in your basement where your kids sleep. Guess who's getting a Radon mitigation system!

So the kit arrived and I followed the directions to the letter. I then sent in the kit using the provided envelope and waited. After 8 weeks of not hearing anything, I called the First Alert 800 line. They told me I had to call the lab that processes it and gave me the 800 number. I called that number, selected the option to get status and it rolls over to some lady's voice mail. I left a message explaining the situation with all my information. It's now been about a week and still no call back. Nothing. $15 down the drain. I might call First Alert and demand my money back - we'll see how that goes. So, after doing some further reading, here's some more date on Radon testing. One kit won't do it. First off, you really need to test more than just one room in your basement (and house). And, radon levels can vary over the seasons and with different weather (humidity, rain, etc.). So I added it up and figured I needed to buy about 8 test kits (and that's assuming that the company would actually provide results on those kits - which they didn't). Well - I finally decided to just buy a detector by Safety Siren. You plug in the detector and it gives you short term and long term averaged readings. It has an alarm and the nice thing is, I can use it throughout the year and test various places in my house. I paid about $120 (free shipping) and it arrived FedEx in three days. If you do the math, it really is a more cost effective way to test for Radon in your house. It's EPA certified and there are great reviews out there on the Internet for it. So, don't buy this short term test kit. Buy the plug in detector instead. It's more cost effective and you won't go through the aggravation I went through with the First Alert kit.

Using this kit was very easy. The charcoal canister is put out for 2-4 days, and then shipped to the lab inside a plastic envelope. We shipped via UPS and they said a box was required. UPS charged us $3.50 for the type of cardboard box we throw in the recycling bin regularly! This means that return shipping via UPS or FedEx is a major part of the overall testing cost. Provide your own box to save money. The test lab does offer a different way to order the kit where the return shipping is paid in advance for a lower overall cost. My Airthings View Plus shows a weekly average of 1 pCiL and a peak reading of 1.9 pCi/L. The First Alert charcoal canister was placed next to it for 3 days. The report from Alpha Energy Laboratories says 2.8 pCi/L. I studied EPA reports from 1991, and 2020, as well as reports prepared by the State of Texas, and Dallas County, and only 3% of the residences in my area might encounter as high 2.8 pCi/L, and that would be during winter. The results from the Airthings View Plus are more in-line with expected values. Therefore, I am removing two stars from my original review because I do not trust the results.

Worked great. Have used these a couples times already. Just follow directions exactly and it will work fine, do not deviate.

Works erll

You are buying a charcoal kit, return envelope, and lab analysis of the charcoal. Unfortunately the envelope and lab forms in this kit are only for a Texas lab. Shouldn't be for sale outside the USA as posting it by air mail etc is not included in the price and will most likely ruin the test results anyway.

It needs you send this back for lab analysis, which doesn’t work outside of US

The product was very easy to use and I’m waiting for my results. It cost an additional $15 American to get my results in Canada by email. I could not get FedEx, DHL, or UPS to ship it because the address did not register in their system. To get Canada post to ship it within the seven day time limit that you have cost me $33 so just be aware of the additional cost.

CAUTION: The product may be fine but returning it is no so easy. The kit has to registered at Alpha Energy website, and an additional $15 USD charge for lab results is required. Also because of current restrictions sending mail to the US, a customs form must be filled out on line. Then a "Q" code must be shown at the post office that they verify and because of the customs restrictions there is a delay in it's arrival time so the results may not be valid. It should not be purchased in Canada.