How Long Can A Breathalyzer Detect Alcohol?

There is no straight answer to the question how long does a breathalyzer detect alcohol for? The reasons for this is that each person is different and the amount of time alcohol takes to leave your system relies on many factors including:

• How much you have had to drink?
• How long you were drinking for?
• How quickly your blood filters the alcohol?
• Your weight, height and age

All of these factors affect how long breathalyzers detect alcohol after drinking. So, if you only had one drink the night before then chances are the alcohol has left your system, but if you went out on a mad binge of alcohol and stopped drinking at around 4am there is no guarantee that alcohol has all been filtered through your system.

• Breathalyzers

Breathalyzers are instruments used by the police to measure the amount of alcohol is in someone's body. The most common use for this is when they pull someone over with suspicions they may be drink driving.

The police tend to each carry a small breathalyzer in their car which measures the blood alcohol content. If a driver is found to have had more than the legal limit then they are usually escorted back to the police station where they will take another test, often using a more advanced breathalyzer to confirm the results of the first test.

• Home breathalyzer

Nowadays, you can also buy your own personal breathalyzer for the purpose of safety for yourself and others to make sure you are not driving over the limit. These are available online and in some stores.

Detection for alcohol through a breathalyzer will last depending on how much you drank from the night before. It detects you blood alcohol level. It drops .015 each hour from your last drink.  For example if you drank 4 beers and your BAL was up to .10 it would take 6 to 7 hours until its at 0.0000.  I doubt they can detect alcohol with a breathalyzer test 24 hours after your last drink.  Unless your BAC was .36 witch is close to death or death.   24 x .015=.36  witch would be about an estimated 20 to 30 beers or a bottle/more to the dome.

A breathalyzer can detect alcohol up to 24 hours, depending on amount consumed.

For every drink, one hour is the general rule. If you drank three shots of whiskey, then you have to wait for three hours. If a breathalyzer is performed, it will detect alcohol if you have not given your liver time to detoxify it.