Is there any proven difference between 24 hours before and say 1 hour before? If all you're doing is diluting, it would seem a good wash down followed by one piss followed by another washdown then piss for testing would offer similar results to the scope of test protocol. 24 hours might be better but is it that much different than my suggestion since you rarely have more than minutes/hour notice?
You would need a minimum of at least 6 hours to guarantee success. Less than that and I think your chances will be reduced. 24hrs notice and you got no worries at all.
From experience doing this multiple times successfully I can say that it takes a few hours of lots of water consumption to "saturate" your body. Like CdnGuy said, you feel "water drunk". You can feel the cells in your body fill up and expand with water. It is a very strange sensation that you feel throughout your body. So care should be taken.
A good way to measure your saturation is by how often to have to do a FULL piss. Once you are doing a FULL piss every 30 mins you are where you want to be. You are pissin straight water at that point. Nothing detectable in that much dilution. In an hour, you are not going to be saturated and you can still have some dirty urine. It takes a few hours of chugging water to reach that point where you are peeing often.
Another way to measure is how clear your urine is. Think of a drug test like testing for dirty water. A quick rinse of your system might still have some dirty water passing through where as a non stop flow of clean water smashing through in waves for hours will not have much dirty stuff passing through at all. In only an hour, you pee is still bright yellow, and full of dirty things that will fail your test.
One last thing to note, the nurses will know you are diluting your urine. They are not dumb, your pee will look like straight bottled water. You will get dirty looks from them I can tell you. But don't worry! When they send off your urine for testing it is ILLEGAL for them to pass along ANY info other then the necessary info for your ID. They can't write a note or anything saying when you took the test you looked stoned and nervous and your piss was diluted.
You CAN have a test come back as untestable because of dilution, however, most employers don't understand what this means as it is still technically passing. And if they want to test you again, because you DID NOT FAIL, they would have to pay the out of pocket expense again to test you. And when that test comes back diluted again they still can't fire you because YOU DID NOT FAIL. If they ask questions just say I don't know man, I'm a runner and I drink lots of water!
I have never had an employer retest me.
Unfortunately there is not much you can do with a random test on the spot other than claiming you can't pee. Then maybe go buy a cleansing drink from a headshop or something as you tell them you are going to buy a large drink so you can take the test for them. I have no experience with any of those cleansing drinks though...
better than the one I'm moving out of. WAY better... gotta stay tough
