Radon
A radon detector printout from several years ago is in a kitchen drawer. Why is that printout not a measurement the survey took this week?
That printout is not a measurement the survey took this week because the survey did not take it. It is an old detector result, found in a kitchen drawer, from several years ago. The inspection has not sampled the air, not placed a detector, and not adopted the drawer's paper as its own test. A sheet in a drawer can be real as a piece of paper and still be someone else's earlier result. UK radon maps and a current measurement are different again. The survey's silence on a figure is not an endorsement of the old printout.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Radon results belong to the building as it was occupied and ventilated when the detector was out, over the period that test covered. Years later the house may have new windows, a different use of rooms, or a fan added or removed. The survey cannot see those changes in a faded printout, and it was not asked to repeat the test. Dating the paper as old is as far as the finding goes. It says the survey did not measure.
Show the printout to the solicitor as a document from the seller's papers, with its date, and do not describe it as the survey's result. If a current level is what you or a lender wants, arrange a measurement. Do not ask the surveyor to type the drawer's figure into the report as if it were taken on inspection day. The home survey has not done that test this week.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you record the printout as an old paper rather than as your measurement?
- What date, if any, was readable on that sheet?
- Have you left this week's radon level unmeasured?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the drawer printout as an old document, not as the survey.
- Note its date when you show it to the solicitor.
- Arrange a current measurement if you need this week's level.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the old printout looks low, can you rely on it now?
Not as this week's measurement. A low-looking historic sheet is still an old sheet. The survey has not repeated it and has not confirmed the figure. Rooms, ventilation and the ground do not freeze because a paper was kept in a drawer. If you need a current level, measure again.
Does losing the printout mean the survey should have tested anyway?
No. The home survey does not measure radon by default. The printout was a paper in a drawer, not a test the survey forgot to finish. Whether you still want a measurement is a separate instruction. The inspection this week did not become a radon test because a sheet once existed.