Start with a question your test can answer
You want a useful measurement from your own home, with a clear record of where and when it was taken. A neighbour’s number, a neighbourhood average or an illustration on a website is not your result. Before ordering a kit or booking a visit, decide who will manage the test, keep the instructions and return the detector or retrieve the report. A named household contact makes it easier to keep the measurement record together.
Choose the testing route before buying equipment
Health Canada describes two routes: a do-it-yourself kit used according to its instructions, or a certified measurement professional conducting a long-term test. Read the official testing guidance before choosing. For a professional service, ask what the price includes: placement, collection, analysis, the written report and a discussion of the result. For a kit, check how analysis and return shipping are handled. Compare the complete process rather than the detector’s purchase price alone.
Make a simple room and occupancy record
List the levels of your home and how you use them. Note the bedroom, living space, home office or recreation room you are considering for the measurement. Include rooms you use regularly rather than describing the basement only as finished or unfinished. Share this record with the measurement professional or use it while reading the kit instructions. It helps you ask a precise placement question without treating a generic room description as a technical placement rule.
Follow the placement instructions for your device
Placement depends on the measurement method and the official instructions. Use the kit directions and Health Canada’s residential measurement guide to check the proposed room and position. If you are unsure about a proposed location, resolve the question before starting the measurement. Avoid inventing a suitable position from a photograph or moving a detector simply because another spot looks tidier. Keep the instructions beside your record so everyone involved can follow the same process.
Record the start, finish and any interruptions
Prepare a page with the device identifier, room, position, start date, expected completion date and the person responsible for returning it. Keep the packaging, order confirmation and laboratory instructions together. If renovations, a move, a device fault or an interruption occurs, write down what happened and ask the kit supplier or measurement professional how it affects the test. A dated record helps you explain the circumstances without guessing after the detector has been collected.
Coordinate with everyone who uses the room
Tell family members, cleaners and other people who regularly use the space what the detector is and who to contact with questions. Choose a way to keep the instructions accessible while leaving the device where its placement instructions require it. In a shared or rented home, discuss access and responsibility with the appropriate people before booking a service. This is a practical coordination step, not an assumption about a landlord’s legal obligations or permission requirements.
Keep the report useful for your next conversation
When the report arrives, save the full document with the room record rather than copying only the largest number. Check the units, measurement period and any laboratory or professional notes. If you want to discuss mitigation, provide that record with your enquiry so the professional can understand what was measured. Our quote-comparison checklist covers the next conversation; the testing and result guide explains the existing testing context.
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Official sources linked above checked 5 October 2026. Device instructions and the assessment of your own home guide the practical next steps.