While legal, alcohol poses many risks to your health and when abused often poses a threat to public safety. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration one in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime. Fortunately there are affordable and accurate home alcohol tests available to a consumer to test at their convenience whether alcohol is being used or abused.

A saliva alcohol test strip works because the concentration of alcohol in saliva is comparable to that of blood. By saturating the test strip with saliva, you can determine by the test strip's color change whether your blood alcohol concentration is at 0.02%, 0.04%, 0.08% or 0.30%.

An alcohol test is a far more useful measure of impairment than the charts describing the amount of alcohol in wine v. beer, or in the number of drinks that will likely cause such and such a degree of impairment. There are many factors that can affect your actual blood alcohol concentration - gender, body mass, activity level, eating habits and alcohol tolerance among them. Only an alcohol test that is as accurate will tell you what your blood alcohol concentration actually is. In all states across the country, a BAC level of 0.08% is a criminal offense. For commercial drivers, a BAC level of 0.04% is also illegal. The saliva alcohol test will qualitatively measure your BAC at both those levels, along with 0.02% and 0.3%. This is an extremely accurate and useful test.

Many parents use saliva alcohol tests to test teenagers or to teach them to test themselves before driving after drinking. Most people want to believe they are safe to drive, but having a quick test to take before getting behind the wheel can save lives.

Instructions - Saliva Alcohol Test

Saliva Alcohol Test Instructions as PDF

Wait 15 minutes after the last alcohol intake or drink a glass of water before testing.

Bring all test items to room temperature for 15 minutes. Remove the test strip from the sealed pouch and use it as soon as possible. Ensure the test pad is a light cream color and is lighter than, or the same color as the negative color block printed on the pouch. Do not use if the test pad is blue or discolored.

Saturate the test pad completely for 5-10 seconds with saliva from a cup or directly apply saliva to completely saturate the test pad. Start the timer immediately. DO NOT place the test strip in the mouth. If the test pad is not completely saturated, results may be inaccurate.

Read results at 2 minutes. Compare the color of the test pad to the color blocks printed on the pouch. Do not read results after 3 minutes.

Negative: No color change appears on the test pad. There is no alcohol present if the color of the test pad matches the negative color block on the pouch.

Positive: A color changes appears on the test pad. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) ranges from 0.02% to 0.30% if the color of the test pad varies from light blue to dark blue.

Invalid: A slight color change appears on the edges of the test pad, but no color change appears on the center of the test pad. Repeat the test with a new test strip and ensure the test pad is completely saturated with saliva.

Frequently Asked Questions - AlcoScreen Alcohol Test

Q: What is the range of colors I am looking for when I take this test?

A: There are four different color pads on this home drug test that indicate varying levels of blood alcohol content (BAC). The four levels (0.02%, 0.04%, 0.08% and 0.30%) are all in very distinguishable shades of green.