There could be annoying situations in your work life, like being sober after a night full of hangovers. What’s even more frustrating is the spontaneous nature of the urine sample test. Although this could ruin your plans, there is a workaround.
Even though human urine can become unstable if treated incorrectly, frozen urine can be used for drug tests for up to six months without deteriorating. To prevent deterioration, the urine should be stored correctly and treated properly.
When Should You Freeze Urine?
There is no better time than now. In order for your urine to freeze properly, you should do so as soon as possible for two reasons. For one thing, this is so that you can prepare as much as possible for any screenings. By doing so, you won’t get stressed over last-minute details and will have clean samples on hand.
Furthermore, human urine is a complex ecosystem that will degrade over time because it is home to many microorganisms. Urinal tract bacteria or airborne fungi can contaminate urine samples, multiply, and spoil the results, even though urine is sterile. Long story short, freeze your urine immediately.
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What Is the Best Way to Freeze Urine?
Several factors must be considered, including the packaging’s composition and size and the timing of placing the sample in the freezer. First, determine the type of container to use. Choose a heavy-duty container. If there’s any glass or porous material involved, remove it right away. Things like water bottles and certain deli containers are good options if you want things that work similarly to urine collection containers.
Choosing the size of the container is as simple as picking anything between 8 and 16 ounces. The refrigerator’s spaciousness allows you to keep an adequate sample size without having to take up a lot of freezer space. Additionally, your container should be airtight. Various contaminants, including bacteria, can be introduced into your sample, leading to sample ruin. As the urine freezes, remove the excess air. Fill it as close to the top as you can.
Ideal Temperature to Freeze Urine
The urine sample should be stored in a freezer at around -4°F(-20°C) or lower. These temperatures ensures that the urine remains stable for a long time.
For how long can urine be frozen?
The urine can be frozen for an indefinite period, but science has not determined the limit. However, it is generally thought that urine can remain in your system for up to a year.
Despite our suspicions, frozen pee could be saved for even longer, but it is always better to be on the safe side.
The freezer may contain more than one urine sample. Ensure the urine container has the date written on it if that is the case. By implementing this strategy, you will prevent samples from becoming confused about whether they are fresh or not.
Using Frozen Urine for Samples
To obtain a drug test, you must submit a sample of your urine. Leave the urine sample to melt at room temperature after taking the sample out of the freezer.
15 – 20 minutes should be enough for the sample to thaw. You must take the urine out of the freezer one hour before the time when the sample is due.
However, it has been determined that human urine can become quite unstable and unusable if infected with bacteria. Due to this, you must treat the sample appropriately to ensure its integrity. Alternatively, good synthetic urine like Quick Fix can also be frozen without harm.
Sample submission
The sample can be heated in the microwave or with a heating pad after being thawed out enough to meet 94°-100°F requirements. It is suggested that the heating pad approach is superior to the microwave approach since the microwave can overheat the sample, resulting in its destruction. It is possible to heat the sample to the required temperature with a heating pad and maintain that temperature until the specified temperature is required for submission.
What to do if you do not have access to a heating pad?
Despite this, the sample can still be strapped to your body between your thighs or under your armpit and be heated by your body heat. After some time, the sample’s temperature might rise to the desired level.
Conclusion
Keeping your sample as quickly as possible is the most important thing while avoiding any possibility of contamination. If your sample is left at room temperature (or hotter), there is a greater chance that the urine will degenerate — and you will fail the test. Keeping your urine samples properly frozen and thawing them will also go a long way toward passing. The thawing process should be done as slowly as possible to avoid exposing your urine to high temperatures in a microwave. The best way to thaw material is by letting it sit in the room’s natural heat or using a heating pad on the lowest setting.
Last but not least, do not refreeze your urine sample. Using it or losing it depends on when you thawed it. The following suggestions will ensure that frozen urine is used in the most successful manner possible.