Can You Dilute Urine for EtG Test? (5 Tips to Consider)
Many think submitting a diluted urine sample is a subtle way to pass a drug test. Because of this, some people attempt to dilute their urine by drinking too much water or adding it physically, but testers can detect urine dilution.
Our extensively researched article, crafted over several weeks of dedicated exploration and careful examination of scientific papers and research, brings forth valuable insights and findings on diluted urine detection.
Read on to find out if it’s possible to cheat an EtG test this way.
Quick Summary
You can dilute urine by drinking water or detoxifying.
Testers can detect a diluted drug test by looking at specific gravity and urine creatinine levels.
An EtG drug test can detect alcohol in your urine sample 80 days after consumption.
What is an EtG Test?
The ethyl glucuronide (EtG) test is an alcohol drug test frequently used to check for the presence of ethyl glucuronide and other substances in urine.
EtG is a byproduct of ethanol, which makes alcohol intoxicating [1] [2].
A urine drug test is the most widely used, although the test can also screen for EtG in hair, blood, and nails.
EtG tests can also show a time of alcohol abstinence before the test. This is known as a negative EtG test result, indicating no instance of identified EtG during the screening [3].
On the other hand, a positive EtG test result will demonstrate alcohol consumption before the test.
“When people drink alcohol, the liver breaks down ethanol into several compounds and since EtG is one such metabolite, it is a suitable bioindicator or biomarker to test for alcohol ingestion.”
– Joe Reilly, President and CEO of National Drug Screening
How Do Testers Detect Diluted Drug Tests?
Testers detect diluted drug tests by conducting visual inspection and validity checks.
Here’s how.
1. Visual Inspection
Dilution is frequently evident upon visual observation during urine drug tests. Human urine is typically a dark yellow, while diluted pee usually appears opaque or translucent.
2. Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is another trusted method testers use to detect diluted drug tests. The specific gravity of urine relates the amount of water to the various chemicals present.
It is marked as a diluted specimen if the test result produced a specific gravity of less than 1.0010 or more than 1.0200.
The specific gravity of normal urine should range from 1.005 to 1.030 [4].
3. Creatinine Levels
Creatinine is a byproduct of metabolism in muscle tissue produced by breaking the amino acid creatine and eliminated by the kidney through urine [5]. Your urine concentration increases linearly with your creatinine level.
Therefore, this information offers a method to ascertain whether the sample is diluted. Creatinine levels in normal urine should be between 20 and 40 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) compared to 2 to 20 mg/dL in diluted urine [6].
What Does a Negative Dilute Drug Test Indicate?
Negative dilute drug test indicates that the urine sample contains more water than normal human urine. The urine loses its yellowish hue due to purposeful or unintentional water ingestion.
Determining whether drugs or metabolites are in the urine with the negative-diluted samples is challenging.
A negative drug test for a diluted substance may cause suspicion. Employees who receive negative results from diluted urine samples may be asked to retake the test per corporate policy.
It demonstrates that the person drank too much water before the test, which some companies could believe you intentionally did to pass a urine test.
2 Causes of Negative Dilute Urine Outcomes
Below are two main causes of dilute urine outcomes.
1. Overdrinking Water Unintentionally
There is no risk involved if this occurs, and there may be several reasons for someone’s high water consumption. They may have done it without concern about providing a urine sample or anxiety around the process. Testing the same person shortly under arbitrary conditions will clear any suspicion.
2. Diluting Urine with Water
Physically diluting urine with water is very risky for several reasons. First, the sample’s temperature can indicate the presence of something other than fresh pee.
If water infiltrates the urine specimen, it will likely be found during the laboratory examinations.
Secondly, how bathrooms in collection facilities are designed eliminates the possibility of diluting.
Most sink water is usually turned off, or the water supply has been cut off to stop the candidate from using it.
Thirdly, the bathrooms frequently have blue dye as well. If the candidate attempts to use that water to dilute their pee samples, the sample will turn blue.
Therefore, it will be clear that an attempt was made to cheat on the test in this instance.
Here are two tips to avoid negative dilute drug tests:
Avoid drinking a lot of water soon before the test because this could result in false negative results and the rejection of your sample.
Use early morning urine samples, commonly known as midstream, since they are the most concentrated.
You should also know the tricks employers apply if you’re looking to pass a urine drug test.
They include:
Timing random drug testing so that there is little opportunity to prepare for urine dilution.
Forbidding anyone from bringing personal objects to testing facilities to stop anyone from tampering with people’s urine.
Limiting water and other diuretics for at least two hours before sample collection by those being tested.
3 Positive Diluted Specimen
The term “positive dilute specimen” relates to a urine sample that tested positive for a particular drug metabolite with a higher water concentration than typical urine.
A positive dilution test result could occur for several different causes mentioned below.
1. Diuretics
Diuretics are typically administered to patients with specific medical conditions that can alter the body’s hydration level [7]. According to one study, patients with edema and high blood pressure are also prescribed diuretics to help with their medical condition [8].
These diuretics, often known as water pills, will assist in removing salts and other unnecessary substances from the body through urination and bowel movements [9].
Thiazides are among the diuretics that strongly affect how hydrated and frequently people urinate [10].
Diuretic users will therefore have dilute urine in the test results. Additionally, several energizing drinks like tea and coffee are regarded as diuretics.
Additionally, people who drink more tea and coffee are more likely to have diluted urine samples.
2. Painkillers
Research has shown that Ibuprofen and other painkillers are frequently linked to false positive results.
Still, using an alternative screening procedure, most specimens are corrected if this is a problem [11]. Ibuprofen and naproxen are two common painkillers commonly obtained over the counter in the US.
In one study, researchers concluded that long-term Ibuprofen or naproxen use did not frequently result in false-positive urine drug tests [12]. Still, they did advise secondary testing when necessary.
3. Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds, regularly found on bagels, rolls, and pastries, are frequently used to defend against positive opiate test outcomes on a urine drug screen [13]. Researchers also claimed that although it’s well known that poppy seeds contain opiates, notably morphine, and codeine, the exact amount depends largely on the source and processing of the seeds [14].
3 Drug Test Dilution Technique
Dilution, delay, and detoxification are the three drug test dilution techniques.
1. Dilution
Simply drinking too much water before your urine test dilutes your urine. The high water levels in human urine thin out alcohol content and THC levels, for instance, making it clear enough to produce a negative result.
2. Delay
In this situation, you wait until all illicit chemicals naturally leave your body fluids before taking the urine drug test.
Delay the test longer than the detection window for the substances you’ve consumed to be safe.
It’s also important to know the detection windows for substances. For instance, EtG tests can detect alcohol metabolites in urine 80 hours after consumption [15].
3. Detoxification
Detoxification is the process of naturally eliminating toxins from your body. You can detoxify by taking drinks or consuming foods high in fiber days before a drug test. Several users claim that potent detox treatments have worked wonders in passing a urine drug test.
Remember that detoxification is a slower way to prepare your urine for testing. It can take hours to many days to complete.
Diluted urine will affect drug tests by generating false negative results. When this happens, the testing facility will require you to submit another fresh sample for testing.
How Long Does EtG Stay in Your Urine?
EtG can stay in your urine for up to 48 hours after a few drinks. Heavy drinking can sometimes be noticed for up to 72 hours or more.
Can Diluted Urine Cause a False Negative?
Diluted urine can cause a false negative since it contains more water, decreasing the creatinine levels and specific gravity of urine samples.
Should You Dilute Urine for EtG Test?
Although diluting urine for an EtG test, like consuming large amounts of liquids, may appear like a clever strategy to avoid drug testing, it will create suspicion. To beat this, we highly recommend you use synthetic urine solutions.
Clear Choice Sub Solution is a notable product in the realm of synthetic urine solutions. It is formulated with a comprehensive blend of uric acid, creatinine, urea, pH balance, specific gravity, and other components found in natural urine.
These ingredients work together to create a realistic urine sample that closely resembles the characteristics and properties of genuine human urine.
Lisa is a content writer, blogger, and entrepreneur. When she is not managing her business, Colonial Stores, Lisa spends most of her time researching about synthetic urine products to review. She loves sharing her learnings in a form of blogging that’s why she built a website to connect with many people. You can read more about me here.
