No preservative is needed for the collection of the 24 hour urine.

If using brand new amber container: RINSE
1. Rinse well with purified water (3 times)
2. Drain

If using a used 4 L container:ACID WASH
1. Rinse and soak with 5% HNO3 for 5 min
2. Rinse well with purified water (3 times)
3. Drain

Instructions to the Patient:

It is recommended that collection be made early in the morning (eg. 0700 h day 1), but may actually be started at any time.

1. Patients voids urine to empty bladder completely. The time is noted at the start of the collection. This urine is discarded and is not part of the collection.

2. All voidings are then collected into the 24 h urine container, as they are passed, up to and including the last voiding at the 24^th hour of the collection (eg 0700 h day 2). If a wide-mouthed container is not available, ensure that the patient is also given a disposable acid washed, wide-mouthed beaker of approximately 400 ml capacity to enable each voiding to be transferred into the 24h container. The container is kept in the refrigerator during the collection.

3. Accurately label the requisition and container with the patient's ID, time urine started, time finished and dates.