Radon Testing and Mitigation in Storm Lake, IA
Midwest Radon Pros is part of Midwest Companies. Our shop is in Spirit Lake, about sixty miles north of Storm Lake, and we will be straight with you about what that means further down this page. Radon gives no warning. You cannot see it or smell it. The only way to know what a building is doing with it is to put a meter on it, and every county in Iowa is in the EPA’s highest risk zone.
We do State of Iowa credentialed radon testing, mitigation installs, fan replacements, repairs, new construction systems, and real estate testing for homes and buildings in Storm Lake. Every mitigation job ends with a post test, so the work comes with a number instead of a handshake.
Midwest Radon Pros.
The Ground Under Storm Lake
The lake is the clue. Storm Lake is a natural glacial lake of about 3,060 acres, and it is there because the Des Moines Lobe was there first. The Iowa Geological Survey has mapped this area in detail, because Storm Lake sits on the western flank of that lobe where the Bemis and Altamont moraines come together. The ground is glacial drift, sometimes a lot of it.
Drift is rock the ice ground into powder. Trace uranium in it decays into radium, radium decays into radon, and the gas moves up through the soil. A heated building works like a low grade vacuum and pulls that gas in through slab cracks, sump pits, floor drains, and gaps around plumbing. That is the whole mechanism.
Iowa HHS puts the average indoor radon level in Iowa at 8.5 pCi/L. The national average is 1.3. The Iowa Radon Survey found 71.6 percent of Iowa homes above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L, the highest share of any state. Those are state numbers. They are a reason to test. They do not tell you about your house.
Most Storm Lake Houses Were Built Before Anyone Thought About Radon
The city’s own profile notes that a large share of Storm Lake’s housing was built between 1960 and 1979. That matters, and not for the reason people assume.
Radon was not understood as a common problem in ordinary houses until the mid 1980s. Before that, nobody was designing around it, because nobody knew to. So a house built here in 1968 was built with no thought to soil gas at all. That is not a defect and it is not a scandal. It is just the era.
Here is the part people miss. Iowa did not require anything about radon in new homes until July 1, 2026. So a house built in 2015 was also built with no radon barrier, unless the builder chose to put one in. Age does not sort houses into safe and unsafe. A drafty older house trades a lot of air, which dilutes what comes in. A tight newer house holds onto it. We have tested both and been surprised both ways. The only thing that answers the question is a measurement.
What the Drive Actually Means
We are not local to Storm Lake and we are not going to pretend we are. Here is how the distance actually works, so you can decide with real information.
A radon test takes two visits. We set the monitor, it runs for at least 48 hours under closed house conditions, and then somebody comes back for it. At about sixty miles each way, a test is two round trips, so a single house is four legs of the drive for us. That is why we schedule Storm Lake work in batches rather than one address at a time, and why the honest answer to “when can you come” is usually a specific day the week after next, not tomorrow.
What that means for you. Call earlier than you think you need to, especially if a closing date is involved. If you have more than one property, or a neighbor who has been meaning to test, say so, because several buildings on one trip is a better use of everybody’s time and it costs less per building. And if you find somebody closer who will show you a state credential and give you a post installation test in writing, hire them. We would rather tell you that than waste your week.
Our Radon Services.
Radon Services in Storm Lake, IA
The calls come in a few shapes. A building has never been tested. A result came back high. A fan that ran for years has gone quiet. A closing is coming and radon is part of the deal.
Radon Testing
A continuous monitor goes on the lowest livable level and runs at least 48 hours with the building kept closed. It records hour by hour instead of giving back one averaged figure, and that record also shows whether the building really stayed closed. You get the result in plain language and a straight answer about what it means. Learn more about radon testing.
Radon Mitigation
At 4 pCi/L or higher, the fix is a sub slab depressurization system. A pipe reaches into the soil under the foundation, a fan holds steady suction there, and the gas vents above the roofline instead of collecting in the basement. Most installs are done in a day, and every one ends with a post test that proves the level came down. See how radon mitigation works.
Fan Replacement and System Repair
Radon fans last five to ten years. When one quits, the system quits with it, and it does that quietly. Check the manometer on the pipe. If the liquid in the two legs has leveled out, nothing is being pulled. We replace fans and repair piping, and given the drive, we would rather fix what you have than sell you a new one.
New Construction Radon Systems
As of July 1, 2026, Iowa building code requires a passive radon system in new single and two family homes. Roughing one in while the foundation is open costs a fraction of retrofitting it later. A passive stub does not always get the level low enough by itself, so test the finished house and add a fan if the number calls for one.
Real Estate Radon Testing
Iowa has no rule requiring a radon test during a sale, but sellers must disclose known test results, and buyers increasingly ask for a test anyway. We test with equipment and protocols that hold up on both sides of the closing table. Tell us the closing date on the first call, because at this distance the schedule is the thing that has to work.
What to Expect From a Radon Test or Install
Call or request a quote, and we sort out the building, the test, and the calendar. The monitor goes on the lowest livable level and we explain what keeping the building closed means. You keep it closed for the test window. We come back for the monitor, pull the data, and send the result. If mitigation is needed, we quote it, schedule it, and finish with a post test.
Pricing and Estimates
Radon work gets priced after we see the building. The foundation, the sump pit, the fan placement, and how many suction points it takes all move the number. Call and we will talk through what to expect, but the number itself comes when we are standing in the building.
Why Storm Lake Property Owners Choose Midwest Radon Pros
Iowa requires anyone paid to install a radon reduction system to be credentialed through the state. Our installers are, and we show the credential without being asked. Ask us for it. Ask anybody else you call for it too.
Past the credential, what matters is proof. A system can look finished and pull nothing, and that is worse than no system at all, because it feels solved. That is why every install ends with a post test. Midwest Radon Pros is part of Midwest Companies, so when radon work runs into a crawl space, insulation, or Guarantee Gutter question, the same operation handles it.
If You Rent
About a quarter of Storm Lake households rent, and renters ask us this a lot, so here is the straight answer. Iowa has no law requiring a landlord to test a rental for radon or to fix one. Schools and licensed childcare centers have testing requirements. Rental housing does not.
What you can do is test. It is your air. A low cost kit from the county public health department or a hardware store will tell you roughly where you stand, and that number is how a conversation with a landlord starts. If it comes back high, the landlord is not obligated to act, but plenty of owners do once somebody hands them a result. We are happy to talk it through with either of you.
Common Radon Calls Around Storm Lake
A 1970s house gets a finished basement and somebody wonders about the air down there. An inspection comes back high with a closing three weeks out. A system from years ago has a manometer nobody has checked. A renter gets a kit result and does not know what to do with it. A landlord with several buildings wants one trip and several numbers. All routine.
Get a Radon Estimate in Storm Lake, IA
Need a test, a repair, a fan replacement, or a system for a new build? Call (712) 339-6868 or Schedule a Call. Tell us your timeline on the first call and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet it.
2902 Aurora Avenue West
Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360
Radon Service Area Around Storm Lake
We serve Storm Lake and the surrounding area, including Alta, Newell, Sioux Rapids, Albert City, and Rembrandt, along with rural Buena Vista County addresses. If you are not sure whether your address is in range, call (712) 339-6868 and we will tell you straight.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Questions Storm Lake Homeowners Ask About Radon
You are about an hour away. How does that actually work?
We batch Storm Lake work instead of driving down one address at a time. A test needs two visits, one to set the monitor and one to collect it, so a single house is two round trips for us. Batching is what keeps it practical. For you that means booking earlier than you would for a local contractor, and it means telling us right away if you are working against a closing date. It also means that if you have more than one building, or a neighbor who wants in, one trip covers all of it and costs less per building.
Does the lake have anything to do with radon?
Not directly, but it is a clue. Radon comes out of soil, not water, so the lake itself does nothing. What the lake tells you is that a glacier was here, and the drift that glacier left behind is the material radon comes from. Living near the water does not raise your risk and living away from it does not lower it.
My house was built in the 1970s. Was radon even a thing then?
Not as far as builders were concerned. Radon was not recognized as a common problem in ordinary homes until the mid 1980s, so nothing built here before that was designed around it. But do not read that backwards. Iowa did not require anything in new construction until July 1, 2026, so newer houses were mostly built without it too, and a tighter house holds gas in better than an old drafty one. Age does not predict the result either direction.
I rent. Can I get my place tested?
You can test it yourself, and you do not need permission to put a kit in the space you live in. Iowa does not require landlords to test rentals or to mitigate them, so a result does not obligate anyone, but it does give you something real to bring to a conversation. Start with a low cost kit from county public health or a hardware store. If it comes back high, call us and we will tell you what the next step looks like, whether you end up hiring anybody or not.
Can you work around a closing date?
Usually, if you call early. A 48 hour test plus results, and if mitigation is needed a one day install with a verification test 24 hours after the fan starts, fits inside most inspection periods. At this distance the limit is our schedule, not the work, so the first call should include the date.
I already have a system. How do I know it is still working?
Look at the manometer on the pipe, the small gauge with colored liquid in a U shape. If the two sides have leveled out, the fan has quit. Even when it shows suction, only a test proves the radon level actually came down, which is why the EPA recommends retesting every two years, mitigated homes included.