If you've used a product that contains alcohol, the Breathalyzer might detect the alcohol concentration and report a false positive. Products that contain alcohol include toothpaste, aftershave, hand sanitizer, bleach, mouthwash, perfume and cologne. Even spraying bug repellent on yourself can produce a false positive.
Another IID manufacturer, SmartStart, explains that a breath test taken immediately after using these products could return a breath alcohol reading as high as 0.25 percent. For this reason, waiting at least 15 minutes after brushing teeth or rinsing with mouthwash is recommended.
The acid produced in the stomach or esophagus from heartburn, acid reflux and gastrointestinal reflux disease can skew a breathalyzer test as well. Even breathing into the breathalyzer equipment with short breaths can produce inaccurate readings, leading to you unjustly being charged with a DUI.
Mouthwash – Many types of mouthwash contain a high percentage of alcohol – as high as 26% in some brands. So even though you don't ingest mouthwash, there could be enough alcohol on your breath to register a false positive.
You might not want to do that. Alcohol-based mouthwash products, like Listerine, can cause you to fail a Breathalyzer test for as long as 10 minutes after use. If you're a driver under the age of 21, the effect could last even longer since the blood alcohol content thresholds are even lower for an underage DWI.
Non-alcoholic beverages can also produce false results. This is because they contain small traces of alcohol. For example, mouthwashes and medicines like asthma medication, oral gels, over the counter medications, and breath sprays may have alcoholic ingredients that could procure an inaccurate reading.
Food and beverages other than alcohol: Many foods contain alcohol in low enough content to not cause intoxication but high enough to throw off a breathalyzer reading. These include fermented drinks, like kombucha, ripe fruits, energy drinks, protein bars, nonalcoholic wine and beer, hot sauce, some nuts, and cinnamon.
While it might come as a surprise, the over-consumption of caffeine could trigger a false positive on a breathalyzer test.
If an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is used during a breathalyzer test, the test may show a false positive result which could lead to a DUI charge. Hand sanitizers emit alcohol vapors that float through the air.
The study found that artificially sweetened drinks, such as Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, provided an average breath alcohol concentration of 0.065%. Comparatively, conventional sugary carbohydrate-laden drinks, such as Coke and Pepsi, yielded a concentration of 0.045%.
Water does help flush out alcohol but only after the liver has metabolized it. So drinking water, whilst aiding hydration, does not reduce your blood alcohol level any quicker.
There's no fast way to sober up once alcohol is in the bloodstream. The only way to sober up is to wait for the alcohol to metabolize. However, the body can only process a limited amount of alcohol per hour.
Do not brush your teeth, gargle with mouthwash, chew gum or eat any mints the morning of the test. Discontinue any probiotics two weeks prior to testing. If you have been on antibiotic therapy in the 48 hours before the test, you will need to reschedule.
Generally, a breathalyzer test can test positive for alcohol for up to 12 hours after consuming one alcoholic drink. The average urine test can also detect alcohol 12-48 hours later. If your BAC is 0.08, it will take approximately 5 hours to metabolize the alcohol completely before you can become “sober” again.
Anxiety and stress can also affect test results, Hlastala said. If someone is nervous enough that they are hyperventilating, that'd change how the test reads their alcohol levels. Using mouthwash or cough drops can also increase mouth alcohol levels, which will affect how much alcohol comes out for the test.
Because eating can lead to slower absorption, this can cause a slower rise of your BAC before it peaks thus extending the amount of time you are impaired.
The most accurate results occur if the breath sample came from alveolar air—air exhaled from deep within the lungs. But if you taste and spit wine and immediately breathe into the breathalyzer, there might still be alcohol in the mouth or throat that the breathalyzer will read, screwing with the results.
A breathalyzer can detect alcohol on the breath for up to 24 hours.
After a night of consuming alcohol, many people ask: “If I drank the night before a breathalyzer test, will I get in trouble?”. Yes, you could get in trouble because alcohol could stay in your breath for up to 12 hours.
It is important to note that common strategies used to “sober up,” such as taking a cold shower, sleeping, drinking water and consuming caffeine, do not work to lower BAC. The only thing that can help alcohol leave your bloodstream is time.
Vinegar: Some types of vinegar, made from wine, contain trace amounts of alcohol that can lead to false positives on breathalyzer tests.