Does the bleach pregnancy test work?
What does a positive bleach pregnancy test look like and is it accurate?
Bleach is one of those oh-so handy household products most of us probably have somewhere (if you have children already, stored safely away from them we hope) But can it really be used to tell if you're pregnant or not? Well, apparently so! And some of the mums within the MadeForMums community have been trying it out.
What is the home bleach test?
The basic idea of the test is that you add your urine to a cup of bleach, and if it produces a foam – like the pic above – you're pregnant. Nicole, a member of our community says, "I have found out that if [the bleach] bubbles, foams or fizzes and stays in the cup, you are pregnant!
"If nothing happens and it dissolves you are not pregnant! The bleach detects the pregnancy hormones and makes a reaction that stays there! Fingers crossed x"
What's the science behind it?
The general premise is that the hormone hCG, present in your urine only if you're pregnant, reacts with the bleach to cause a fizz.
To start with we should say there's no standardisation of this test so it's pretty hard to look at it scientifically. People use different amounts of urine, different amounts of bleach and containers in various materials to carry out the test.
Does it work?
Well, it's not 100% accurate, that's for sure. If you take a look on YouTube you'll find lots of videos of fizzing bleach. Some are from women who already know they're pregnant, and taking the bleach test has simply confirmed it.
MadeForMums community member Susie shared this amazing super-foamy pic - and she is, in fact pregnant.
But while lots of online clips show fizzing bleach, there's not always an indication accompanying the vid of whether the person doing it has had the results officially stated by a doctor or a more traditional pregnancy test.
Why do a bleach test?
Lots of women seem to find it's just a fun – and different – way to see if they're pregnant using something they probably already have in the home.
And there just might be some instances when you can't get hold of a proper pregnancy test but need an indication asap.
For example, one of the mums on our team suspected she was pregnant on Christmas Day and there were no shops open near her to buy one. She said if she'd have know about this test she might have given it a go!
Of course, don't rely solely on a fizz or foam from bleach to confirm you're pregnancy. If you need to confirm a pregnancy we'd always advise using a pregnancy test - see our feedback on which pregnancy tests work best according to home testers.
Pic: Savannah Swift on YouTube / MadeForMums community
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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