A wipe for detecting the presence of an explosive substance is composed of an absorbent or adsorbent substrate and a chemical detection solution impregnated within the substrate. In one embodiment the chemical detection solution includes a combination of reagents operable, when contacted with a particular explosive substance to undergo a chemical reaction or a series of chemical reactions to produce a compound having a visible color. In another embodiment, the chemical detection solution includes a redox color indicating agent that is operable to exhibit a color change upon reacting with the explosive substance.