Home testing strips is probably the best thing that was created since sliced bread – I mean, seriously – you can test yourself at home! And it is so convenient, too – you either know how the official test is going to turn out before you even get there, or you know that all those pills and time staying clean were not spent in vain. It does not happen often, but perhaps it happened to you – the test does not work! There are no lines, no colors whatsoever, no nothing, and you turn to the instructions just to be informed that the test is inconclusive. Before opening a second (or a third) test, let us look into the possible reasons that could have prevented the tester from functioning correctly: One and the same mistake that occurs over and over again is that one not only does not follow the instructions, but does not even read them at all! You get a package, you rush to get the stuff out and run to the bathroom to see how clean you are, but forget to look into the directions printed on the product. Dipping in with the wrong end, peeling off an unnecessary part, taking the entire thing apart instead of comparing it to the picture in the directions, and finally – looking for the reaction lines at the wrong spot! “What if I do not have any lines but the whole thing just turned purple?” Well, how long did you keep the tester in the urine? “It says here five minutes.” No, it might say five seconds, and to read the results in five minutes. “What if I have one line but it is faded? I only dipped it in there for like half a second…” Yeah, you should hold it in there for a bit longer than a second. There will be instructions with every product that you buy; if you misplace them you can always go back to the website where you purchased it from. Always follow the directions, otherwise it might just happen that you have wasted your money.