At FirstCry Parenting, our aim is to give you the most elevant, accurate and up to date information.
Every article that we publish, confirms to stringent guidelines & involves several levels of reviews, both from our Editorial team & Experts. We welcome your suggestions in making this platform more useful for all our users. Write in to us at
- What is a Bleaching Powder Pregnancy Test?
- How does It Work?
- What Will You Need to Perform the Test?
- Which Bleach to Use for This Test
- How to Perform a Bleaching Powder Pregnancy Test
- What if There is No Reaction?
- Test Result
- How Accurate is the Bleach and Urine Pregnancy Test?
- Risks of Taking Bleach Pregnancy Test at Home
- Does Taking Health Supplements Cause a False Result?
- Precautions to Take While Doing the Home Pregnancy Test with Bleach
Last Updated on January 16, 2021
Bleach has been used in every household as a cleaning agent for kitchen and toilets. However, it can also be used for a pregnancy test at home. This home pregnancy test using bleach is known as Bleach Pregnancy Test. It is a quick and cheap alternative to a conventional pregnancy test. Let’s find out more about it.
Note: The results from Bleach and powder pregnancy test are not 100 % accurate. As this test can prove to be dangerous when handled incorrectly, it is advisable that someone else perform the test for you to avoid any harm to you or the baby.
What is a Bleaching Powder Pregnancy Test?
Bleach Pregnancy Test is an easy homemade pregnancy test using bleach as the testing indicator. Pregnancy can be easily detected without spending too much money by this method. The Bleach Pregnancy test is a good method to try as a precursor to another pregnancy test.
Bleach and pee pregnancy test is possible due to the highly reactive nature of bleach. The reaction between the bleach and urine indicates the result of this test. If the reaction produces fizz, bubble or froth, this could mean that you are pregnant. While if you don’t see any visible reaction, it suggests that you are not pregnant.
How does It Work?
Pregnancy tests are based on the ability of a substance to identify a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the urine. Your placenta starts producing HCG early when you are pregnant. The level of HCG production continues to rise each day during most of the first trimester. After crossing a certain threshold concentration, HCG starts coming out along with the urine.
In the Bleach Pregnancy test, when HCG present in urine reacts with bleach to produce fizz, bubble or froth. This is a clear indication that HCG is present in the urine, and you are pregnant.
If there is no noticeable change when urine and bleach are mixed together, then it indicates that HCG is not present in the urine and you are not pregnant.
What Will You Need to Perform the Test?
For Bleach Pregnancy test, you will need the following items:
- Two clean cups- Mark them as cup 1 and cup 2.
- Standard household bleach
- Fresh urine sample (try to conduct the test in the morning since the concentration of HCG in urine is maximum at that time)
Which Bleach to Use for This Test
To perform the Bleach Pregnancy test, you do not require any expensive industrial bleach. You can use standard household bleach that is generally used for cleaning purposes. Try to use normal bleach rather than scented or coloured bleach as these might disrupt the reaction between the bleach and urine.
How to Perform a Bleaching Powder Pregnancy Test
Following are the steps to perform the Bleach Powder Pregnancy Test:
1. Prepare the Urine in Cup 1
Urinate in the cup directly. Try to fill one-fourth of the cup with urine. It is advised to perform the test in the morning since the concentration of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is highest at this time. Hence, it will give you better results.
2. Prepare the Bleach in Cup 2
Put some bleach into the Cup 2. There is no specified measurement for this, but it is advised to take one-fourth cup of bleach.
3. Add Your Urine to Cup 1
Pour the fresh urine sample from cup 1 to cup 2. You will be able to see the reaction immediately.
4. Observe The Reaction
After mixing, if the reaction produces fizz, bubble or froth, it could mean that you are pregnant. While if you don’t see any visible reaction, it suggests that you are not pregnant.
What if There is No Reaction?
If you cannot see any reaction after bleach and urine is mixed, then you are not likely not to be pregnant. However, you should not conclude that you are not pregnant since the bleach and pee pregnancy test is not 100 % conclusive. You should try another standard pregnancy test to find out for sure.
Test Result
The Bleach Powder Pregnancy test will need your patience for interpretation of results. Froth will be generated as soon as you add urine in bleach. You will have to be observant as the reaction lasts for a few seconds.
1. Positive Result:
If the solution produces fizz, bubble or froth, this is the positive pregnancy test with bleach and urine. If the mixture foamed within a few seconds, there is a very high chance that you are pregnant. A positive bleach pregnancy test indicates that you are pregnant. However, it is not 100% accurate.
A false positive pregnancy result is when the pregnancy test shows positive, but you are not actually pregnant. If you leave the mix for too long, it will froth due to other reasons. It will be considered as a false positive pregnancy result.
2. Negative Result:
If the mix doesn’t produce any frothing or effervescence, then you are not likely not to be pregnant. But this result is not 100 % conclusive. You should try another standard pregnancy test to find out for sure. A negative bleach pregnancy test suggests that you are not pregnant.
A false negative pregnancy test is when you are pregnant, and the pregnancy test gives a negative result. However, a false negative pregnancy test is very uncommon. A false pregnancy result can be observed if you take a bleach pregnancy test before a missed period.
How Accurate is the Bleach and Urine Pregnancy Test?
The pregnancy test with urine and bleach is a homemade pregnancy test. You cannot expect it to be 100 % conclusive. The pregnancy test conducted by hospitals and nursing homes is far more superior than bleach and urine pregnancy test.
However, when you think that you might be pregnant and you want a little bit of reassurance, the bleach and pee pregnancy test is a great method for that.
Risks of Taking Bleach Pregnancy Test at Home
Bleach and urine should be combined with utmost care. When bleach and urine are combined a very toxic fume called chloramine gas is created that can be risky for you and your baby if you inhale even a small amount of it. Depending on the amount of chloramine gas you inhale, you could experience minor symptoms such as difficulty breathing, nausea, throat irritation and skin irritation, or could even possibly lose consciousness if you inhale too much. Hence it is necessary to perform this test in an open area with a lot of ventilation. Also, it is preferable that someone else perform the mixing part of the test without you in the room, so that there is no risk of harm to you or the baby. All in all, if you believe you are pregnant, it is always advisable to buy a pregnancy test from a pharmacy, as it is safer and more accurate.
Does Taking Health Supplements Cause a False Result?
Since, most of the Heath Supplements in the market do not have any particular hormone, including the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), which is the main factor for this test, you do not have to worry about false results due to health supplements.
However, if the health supplement prescribed to you has a diuretic effect (which causes more urination than normal), the concentration of HCG in your urine might not be sufficient for the test, and it might produce false results.
Note: If you drink too much water, the concentration of HCG in your urine might be lower than required for the test, and this might produce false results.
Precautions to Take While Doing the Home Pregnancy Test with Bleach
It is very important to take safety precautions while doing the Bleach Powder Pregnancy test. Here are some precautions you should take:
- Do not directly pee inside the bleach container, as it may cause a reaction that could be dangerous.
- Use the normal bleach rather than the scented or coloured bleach as these might disrupt the reaction between bleach and pee.
- The fumes caused by mixing bleach and urine may cause watery eyes, nausea, suffocation and chest pain. The fumes from the bleach and pee pregnancy test can be toxic to your unborn baby if you inhale them.
- The observation has to be made in the first few seconds. If you leave the mix for too long, it will froth due to other reasons. It will be considered as a false positive pregnancy result.
- Ensure that the room where the testing is done has proper ventilation. Never inhale the gases that come out during the test.
- Do not allow the bleach to come in contact with your skin. Bleach is corrosive in nature. It can cause irritation and burns.
- Do not shake the mixture of urine and bleach. The froth seen after shaking the mixture will not be the proper indicator of pregnancy. The foam or froth might have been caused due to the stirring action.
The Bleach Powder Pregnancy Test can be a very useful home-based test to check pregnancy. However, the results of this test are not 100 % conclusive. It is highly recommended that you get a standard pregnancy test done at a hospital for confirmed results.
Also Read:
Baking Soda Pregnancy Test
False Positive Pregnancy Test
How to Know Pregnancy Without Doing Test
15 Easy Homemade Pregnancy Tests