How long does alcohol stay in the urine and does water help to dilute the alcohol?

The following represents some of the key positives and negatives regarding urine alcohol testing.

Urine Alcohol Testing Pros

They have a high assurance of reliable results.


They are relatively inexpensive.


They provide the most flexibility in testing different drugs, including alcohol and nicotine.


They are the most likely of all drug-testing methods to withstand legal challenge.

Urine Alcohol Testing Cons

The specimen can be adulterated, substituted, or diluted.


They have a limited window of detection (typically 1 to 5 days).


They are considered as invasive or embarrassing form of alcohol testing.


They present a biological hazard when the specimens are handled and shipped to the lab.


They indicate the presence of alcohol in a person's system, but it takes up to 2 hours for the alcohol to show up in urine. A positive urine test does not necessarily mean the person was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the test. Rather, it detects and measures the use of alcohol within the previous day or so and with some special testing methods, such as EtG urine alcohol tests, up to 80 hours.


Taken from: Alcohol Testing | Alcohol Tests | Testing for Alcohol | Alcohol Test


The EtG Urine Alcohol Test
With some urine alcohol tests, alcohol can be detected up to around 48 hours after a person has ingested alcohol. With the EtG Urine Alcohol Test, however the presence of EtG in the urine demonstrates that ethanol alcohol was ingested within the past 3 or 4 days, or roughly 80 hours after the ethanol alcohol has been metabolized by the body.

As a result, it can be determined that a urine alcohol test employing EtG is a more accurate indicator of the recent consumption of alcohol as opposed to simply measuring for the existence of ethanol alcohol (as is done many other urine alcohol tests).

Let's use one of the above examples to further illustrate the ramifications of the EtG Urine Alcohol Test. As stated above, a person with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 will have no measurable alcohol in his or her bloodstream ten hours after the last drink.

With the EtG Urine Alcohol Test, however, the presence of EtG in the urine reveals that ethanol alcohol was consumed within the past 80 hours or so which could mean many hours after the ethanol alcohol has been metabolized by the body.

Tested 49 ug at police station at 1.30 a.m. last drink was around 12.00 a.m.. Took urine sample at 3.30 a.m. which is what the police are basing the results on not the breath specimen machine, what are my chances please.

Tested 49 ug at police station at 1.30 a.m. last drink was around 12.00 a.m.. Took urine sample at 3.30 a.m. which is what the police are basing the results on not the breath specimen machine, what are my chances please.

A single urine test is not an acceptable measure of impairment as the UAC cannot reliably predict BAC. It is more likely that the UA will be used as corroboration for the Breath test which is an acceptable measure of impairment. The urine will show alcohol content which can be used to establish that alcohol was consumed but not how much and it cannot be used to establish BAC (degree of impairment) at an earlier time.