Radon test kits in Calgary

Which type of kit should I use?

A long-term kit. Health Canada recommends a measurement of three to twelve months, with 91 days as the floorsource, and it does not recommend testing for anything shortersource. The passive devices it recommends are alpha track detectors and electret ion chambers, and electronic radon monitors are in use toosource. Nearly every long-term kit sold to homeowners is an alpha track detector: a plastic puck about the size of a hockey puck or smaller, with no power and nothing to switch on.

Short-term tests typically last between two and seven dayssource. They exist for situations where three months are not available, which is rarely the case for someone testing their own home.

Where can I get a radon test kit in Calgary?

Online is the dependable route, because the kit, the return shipping and the laboratory analysis come as one package. Two sources connected to Alberta research and health organizations publish their prices, which put a long-term kit at about $54 to $70 as of October 2026.

• The Evict Radon National Study, the University of Calgary-led research project, offers an at-cost long-term kit for $53.99 with free shipping, and asks for consent to share your result with researchers in de-identified formsource.
• Alberta Lung sells a 90-day test for $70.00 through HomeRadonTest.ca, with two-way shipping and laboratory analysis includedsource.

Hardware and home improvement stores in the city carry radon kits at times. We do not list store names or stock here, because we cannot verify either from one week to the next. Whatever you buy, check three things on the box before paying: that it is a long-term kit of 91 days or more, that the laboratory fee is included, and that the result is reported in Bq/m³.

As of October 2026 we found no free-kit program listed as open to Calgary residents in generalsource. Programs that hand out kits tend to be tied to a particular municipality or to a medical situation, and they open and close. Our guide to free radon test kits in Calgary tracks what is running.

When should I start the test?

In the fall, or as soon as the furnace is on. Health Canada wants at least 91 days of the test to fall in the heating seasonsource, and its advice is to test for a minimum of three months, ideally between October and Aprilsource.

In Calgary that window opens early. A kit set out any time from October to the end of January will collect its 91 days while the house is still closed up and heated. One started in April or later should stay out until the next winter has contributed its share. Our page on starting a radon test in November turns that into a short plan.

How do I set up a kit correctly?

Follow the placement rules exactly, because a kit in the wrong spot measures the wrong air. Health Canada's guide calls for a room occupied four or more hours a day on the lowest lived-in level, with the detector about 30 cm or more off the floor and away from walls, kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, vents, heat sources, direct sun and electronicssource.

1. Read the instructions first. Kits differ in how they are opened, started and sealed.
2. Choose the room: a basement bedroom, family room or office if the basement is used, otherwise the main floor.
3. Set the detector on a shelf or table at about breathing height, where nobody will bump or tidy it away.
4. Write down the start date, the room and the serial number, on the form in the box and somewhere you will find again.
5. Leave it alone. Live as usual, with normal heating and ventilation.
6. At the end, record the stop date, seal the detector as instructed and mail it the same week.

The laboratory works out your average from the exposure time, so a missing or wrong date makes the result less reliable than a perfectly placed detector deserves. Put a reminder in your phone for day 91 on the day you start.

How many kits do I need?

One is enough for most houses, on the lowest level that is lived in. A second is worth its cost in a few layouts: a basement suite occupied by other people, an addition or sunroom on its own foundation or crawl space, or a split-level where two different floors sit against the ground. Two detectors side by side in the same room are also a cheap way to check that the measurement is consistent.

Are digital monitors useful?

Yes, with limits. A plug-in or battery monitor shows radon moving up and down through the day, which a passive kit cannot do, and that makes it good for learning how your house behaves and for keeping an eye on a mitigation system. The same sensitivity is its weakness: a single afternoon's number can sit far above or below the true average and should never be compared with the guideline on its own.

C-NRPP has tested consumer-grade electronic radon monitors and publishes the models it approves. It notes that these devices cannot be professionally calibrated, that they are not approved for use by radon measurement professionals, and that they should be left in place for at least three monthssource. So if you own one, choose the right room, leave it there and read the long-term average, not the number of the day. For a home sale, a rental file or a record before and after mitigation, a laboratory-analysed kit or a professional test is the document to rely on.

What should I do when the result comes back?

Compare it with the guideline, in the right unit. The Canadian guideline is 200 Bq/m³ as an annual averagesource. A long-term result above it calls for reducing radon within a year, sooner when the number is highersource.

• Below 200 Bq/m³: the Health Canada recommendation to act does not apply, and what you do next is your call, since no level is considered risk-free. File the report with your house documents. A result close to 200 is a reason to test again next winter.
• Above 200 Bq/m³: a properly run long-term kit is a valid basis for action. You do not need a second test before asking for an assessment.
• Result in pCi/L: multiply by 37 to get Bq/m³ before comparing.

Our page on radon levels covers each range, and radon mitigation in Calgary explains what an assessment and a system involve if your number is high.

When does a professional test make more sense?

When someone other than you needs to rely on the result. That covers a seller who wants a documented result before listing, a rental property where the landlord wants a documented record, a daycare or workplace, and the test that confirms a new mitigation system. It also covers the ordinary case of not wanting to manage dates, forms and mailing yourself.

Health Canada recommends that every home be tested, wherever it is and whatever kind of building it issource. A kit and a professional test are two ways of doing the same sensible thing. Our page on radon testing in Calgary describes the professional route, and if you already have a kit result you are unsure about, send it with the form on this page and we will tell you how we read it.