Homemade pregnancy tests abound and are still popular for the reasons you’d expect. In this day and age, privacy is the biggest concern. So let’s say that you are trying a bleach pregnancy test that you read about and it turned clear or bubbly. What does it mean? How does this type of test work? Today we are going to discuss the bleach pregnancy test in detail as well as go into a few other methods that have been employed throughout time. So let’s start with a little on how that bleach test is supposed to work.
The bleach home pregnancy test
If you haven’t heard of the bleach test before, this is how it is done. A small quantity of urine is obtained in the morning and placed in a cup. Carefully, so as not to breathe the fumes, bleach is poured (or sprinkled, if powder) into the cup to see if there is a chemical reaction. You see, bleach reacts with a chemical produced in your body when you are pregnant that is called HCG (short for human chorionic gonadotropin). This chemical becomes present in the urine at around 10 days after the pregnancy has begun.
What happens if HCG is present?.
If you are taking the bleach pregnancy test and it bubbles like soda, then this could indicate HCG is present. Even if the bleach pregnancy test only bubbles a little, there is a possibility that you might be pregnant. If your bleach pregnancy test turned/stayed clear you are not pregnant.
So this test really works?
Yes, this test does work, but it’s not 100% accurate. There could be medications that you are taking which are causing the reaction, for instance. If you are taking the bleach pregnancy test and it foamed up with the introduction of the bleach then you very well might be pregnant but you might want to confirm it with a private doctors appointment or a home pregnancy test for the most accurate results.
What if the bleach pregnancy test turned red or another color?
Don’t panic. This may be a sign that the cup wasn’t clean or that you are using a bleach with additional chemicals. Make sure that you are using strictly chlorine bleach powder or liquid in order to assure proper results. If you are still seeing discoloration then a trip to the physician for a checkup is advisable.
Other home pregnancy tests
There are a number of other home pregnancy tests that you can try. As to their efficacy.. eh, well some people swear by them but in general a home pregnancy test is going to be much more likely to produce accurate results. One interesting test is extremely old and hails from Egypt. A wheat seed and a barley seed would be planted and the woman who wanted to test if she was pregnant would urinate on each daily. If the seeds began growing then this was a sign of pregnancy. Sounds hokey? It was actually quite accurate! While we cannot attest to the accuracy of the tests to follow we thought that we would include them for those who are interested. Some more modern tests of the home variety are as follows:
- Peroxide and Tylenol test – In a plastic cup you will want to place 2 crushed tylenol tablets alone with 1/4 cup of peroxide. Follow this by adding 1/4 cup of urine and watch for the reaction. If it begins foaming or if it turns blue then you could well be pregnant!
- The toothpaste test – For this test, squeeze out a a toothbrush-sized sample of plain white toothpaste into a cup. Add urine and see if it turns blue or if it foams up. If there is no reaction then this is supposed to indicate that you are not pregnant (but we’d still advise the home test if you want to be completely sure!).
- The Pine Sol pregnancy test – Wait, what?! Yes, Pine Sol cleaning solution is said to be a surefire way to test for pregnancy from the privacy of your home. Take half a cup of pine sol and add at least 1/4 cup of urine to it. If the pine sol changes color within 10 minutes then this is supposed to mean that you are pregnant.
” We would still like to urge caution when trusting the results.”
- The sugar test – Supposedly HCG will make it more difficult for sugar to dissolve. To try this test, take a cup of urine and put a spoonful of sugar into it slowly (use a plastic spoon, of course, because yuck!). If the sugar quickly dissolves then this is meant to indicate that you are not pregnant, whereas you are pregnant if the sugar begins clumping!
- The wine test – Slightly on the fancy side, one test that we have heard of is the wine test. This involves a cup with equal parts wine and urine. If you are pregnant, the reaction should discolor the wine within a few minutes. Who knew?
- The baking soda test – Our last test involves baking soda and simply requires adding two tablespoons of it to a cup, followed by 2 tablespoons of your urine sample. If it begins fizzing like an angry, shaken soda then you might be pregnant!
Some final words
While we’ve included a number of home tests which are reputed to predict the likelihood of pregnancy we would still like to urge caution when trusting the results. A home pregnancy test from the pharmacy is going to be a much more reliable way to detect that HCG to a degree that you can trust. That said, if your privacy concerns are paramount, the bleach test is generally accepted as being one of the more accurate of the home varieties which are available. Just be sure to follow our recommendations and verify the results if needed!
