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Did you find a suspicious-looking stain on some clothing, bedsheets, or other fabric? You can figure out if the stain is semen using simple tests and tools. We’re here to walk you through exactly what to do and what to look for, along with ways to clean away those pesky stains once and for all.
How to Detect Sperm & What it Looks Like
- Use a blacklight —if the stain is sperm, it will likely light up.
- Check the color. Sperm stains are usually gray, light yellow, or off-white.
- Feel the texture of the stain. If it's crusty, it could be sperm.
- Remove dried stains with delicate detergent , upholstery-grade stain remover , or enzymatic pre-treatment cleaner .
Steps
Section 1 of 3:
How can you detect sperm stains?
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Use a blacklight to detect sperm stains. Switch off the lights in the room and hold the blacklight over the material. Guide the light down the fabric and see what appears—in many cases, sperm lights up underneath the lamp. The stain itself may be yellow, blue, or some other color, depending on the exact light that you’re using. [1] X Research source- A blacklight, also known as a Wood’s lamp or UV-A light, shines ultraviolet light over a given surface. [2] X Research source
- Keep in mind that a blacklight isn’t a 100% conclusive way of identifying sperm stains. [3] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Bodily fluids like urine and blood also look bright beneath a blacklight. [4] X Research source
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Transform your smartphone into a blacklight if you don't have one. Start by covering the LED camera light with a strip of transparent tape and coloring over the lens with a blue permanent marker . Layer another piece of tape on top and color it in with the blue marker again. Then, stick an extra section of tape over top and shade over the lens with a purple permanent marker . Your homemade blacklight is now ready to go! [5] X Research source- This DIY trick is much more useful than a blacklight phone app. While these apps simulate a blacklight, they don’t actually mimic the effects of one.
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Get more definitive proof with an at-home test. Use an at-home semen detection kit to test the stain that you spotted under the blacklight—it’ll test the fabric for acid phosphatase (AP), an enzyme found in semen and vaginal stains. Just keep in mind that this test isn’t completely conclusive, since AP is also found in various bodily fluids. [6] X Research source- You can also use an at-home Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test to narrow down your results, but this isn’t totally conclusive, either.
- If you’re really curious about the stain’s contents, send a fabric sample to a private laboratory for testing.
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References
- ↑ https://forensicresources.org/2011/forensic-tests-for-semen-what-you-should-know/
- ↑ https://sciencenotes.org/what-is-black-light/
- ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10585986/
- ↑ https://sciencenotes.org/list-of-things-that-glow-under-black-light/
- ↑ https://www.osc.org/diy-blacklight-use-this-hack-to-turn-any-smartphone-into-a-blacklight/
- ↑ https://privatelabresults.com/semen-glow-uv-light/
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7555023/
- ↑ https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/21600-yellow-semen
- ↑ https://deavita.net/how-clean-sperm-stains-semen-easy-steps-remove-mattress-carpet-clothes-281580.html
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