How do you get rid of radon in your basement? Stop it at the soil. A basement acts like a vacuum on the ground around it, drawing radon in through cracks and other openings, so the methods that work prevent radon from entering rather than chase it once it is inside. The most common, subslab suction, puts one or more suction pipes through the floor slab, and a radon vent fan draws the gas from below and vents it outdoors. Drain tiles, a capped sump or hollow block walls can serve as the suction point instead.
Sealing cracks and openings is a basic part of most approaches, but on its own it has not been shown to lower radon levels significantly or consistently. Opening windows lowers the level only for a while: once they are closed, radon most often returns to its previous level within about 12 hours.
What to do next: if you have one short-term result, confirm it with a follow-up test, then get quotes from certified professionals. Once the system is running, test again to confirm the level has come down, and retest at least every two years.
