Period knickers, is it me, or am I doing something wrong?

[AHelpfulHand]

So I purchased some Cheeky Wipes period knickers, the heavy flow ones, thinking they would be better than pads.

However I’m on my 3rd day with them now and I’m finding them such a faff!

You have to take your trousers off to change them, I’m on my 3rd pair today and have spent 15 mins with the tap constantly running rinsing out knickers.

The blood goes all over my hands and just seems to take forever to rinse out.

I don’t know were to put them once they have been rinsed without them dripping everywhere, as they haven’t been spun in a machine etc.

I draped them over the bath until I was to put a dark wash on, only to then find that they left a stain in my bath (stone bath) which would only come off with a special cleaner.

Am I missing something here? I feel like they’re more work than they’re worth.

Same here and I feel gross and damp.
Mooncup here, although no more periods now.

Ive got the reusable eco lily pads which are black and purple. They come with a bag to put dirty ones in. I also use a mooncup at the same time at the beginning of my period due to heaviness. I’ve found with the eco lily pads I haven’t had a leak yet through them which I would get often with disposable pads. I only change the reusable pads once a day.

I prewash mine in the machine. we have one DC in cloth nappies atm but once they're out of nappies I'd use the 15min daily wash to prewash

DD has Modibodi ones, they seem pretty good. She just puts them in a waterproof bag then when theres a few pairs they go in the washing machine, never bother rinsing them, they always come out nice and clean. She does sometimes use a disposable pad as well to save changing at school when she's very heavy.

This is what I do. I tend to use mine for lighter days as well, and wear one pair all day. I figure that still saves on some disposable stuff

I use ModiBodi My flow isn't as heavy as yours OP so I'm not changing mine as frequently, but like you I find the whole rinsing thing a faff. And I don't always remember to do it, which is really bad because then the knickers are harder/impossible to clean properly and they start stinking Generally though, I just wash mine in the bathroom sink and then hang them in the bathtub to drip dry like you do. But yeah it leaves a blood puddle and is not necessarily pleasant for the other members of my household.

I wish I could use a menstrual cup (or even tampons) but annoyingly none of them sits properly inside me anymore due to prolapse so I'm stuck with pads & knickers

I use Primark and M&S ones. Both good but primark ones are better and cheaper. I change them once a day on heavy days and when I'll be home. If I'm going out all day I'll use regular pads and pants. That's only 2 days of my period though and I'm mostly home. I love period pants especially at night when I hate pads and tampons. I don't rinse them. I find that makes them smell after a while. I chuck em in the laundry basket and wash when I put a load of darks on.

I don't rinse mine. They go straight into the machine with whatever wash I'm doing.

You change your mooncup every hour?

I’d really not be looking to change period pants during the day (I mean the work or school day) not the entire day!

I’ve used a few different brands and in my experience if your periods are heavy you really need to do with the best quality ones you can afford. Marks and Spencer and similar are ok for lighter days but the ones they describe as ‘heavy’ are really not suitable for genuinely heavy periods. As another poster said you just need to remove any solids with toilet paper. I use with a moon cup. My daughter uses a disposable pads with them at school and removes it at lunchtime it means she gets twice as long and the extra peace of mind. Although it rather spoils the eco credentials!

The washing is a bit of a faff though and the quality ones often can’t be tumble dried. In fact modi bodi (my preferred choice - you need the 24 hour/maxi absorbency) recommend you don’t soak or wring them out! I’ve amassed a decent collection now and if I have a few drying I’ll then shove them in the washing machine on a 15 min quick wash (because they are basically clean by this time) then an extra spin and back in to the radiator. This extra spin dramatically reduces drying time. You do need find the routine which works best for you. This might involve buying more so you have the optimum no. in rotation.

I was caught unawares on holiday last year and had to go back to tampons and towels. I couldn’t believe what a faff it was disposing of used tampons in strange toilets. I’d completely forgotten how awful they are. Disposable towels stick to everything apart from your pants!

It's quite interesting to see different approaches. I like the idea of leaving them to soak but they all say don't do that!

Agree that you need better ones sadly - except for the 24 hours or so when my period is very heavy/I might flood - I use one for the day, one for the night. I usually give them a good rinse then shove on the bath and they go in with then next load of colours. I used to wash them separately every time but then I'd have to wait until I had a pile of them and it got disgusting.

I do want to buy a wet bag as that seems like a better option too - could rinse shove in bag and then put in the wash.

Tampons all the way, so easy.

I was the same . I couldn't get used to them.

After three hours, it felt like I was wearing a very full wet nappy. It was very uncomfortable.

I don't use period pants but DD does.

I bought an addis food caddy from tesco which is a nice colour, and it sits in the bathroom. We don't bother soaking. She pops her pants/pads in there. I used to rinse manually but can't be faffed now so every other night I chuck in machine on a rinse cycle then put all the rest of the washing on top and do a normal wash.

Modibodi and Here We Flo user here.
I don’t rinse, I just put them in a normal wash.
I do use pads too but on day one only.
Day two onward aren’t too heavy and I wear them for 24hrs like normal pants.
I adore them, they aren’t for everyone.

I use wuka, on my heavy days I pop a reusable pad in first thing in the morning. Take out the pad at lunchtime, rinse and pop in a wet bag. Change pants in the evening, rinse and into a wet bag. Then I wash with other 'mucky' clothes (I have hobbies that create lots of sweaty clothes!) with some Dettol anti-bac laundry wash. Much easier than any other method I've tried .

I didn't get on with any brand of period knicker.

I don't find them environmentally friendly either. The constant cold running water until it runs clear and then a machine wash. Not great for the environment or your water meter to pour all that down the sink on one pair of knickers.

I'll stick to tampons

This is what I do, then they’re in the next wash.

You’re also not using fabric conditioner when you wash them, are you?

They are a bit faffy but I wear one pair for work, change when I get home and then change for bed. 5 min rinse after changing. But I do only have 2-3 day periods.

My daughter has modibodi but she get really heavy periods so on these days she puts a pad in over the modibodi and then takes it off half way through the day so she doesn't need to change.
I don't follow instructions - I just put them in by themselves for a 15min rinse and then add other dark clothes and wash as normal. I also dry them in the dryer - they are years old and still going strong.

I don't know why they say not to soak them, do any of you know what the issue is?
I soak mine as I also can't be arsed with all the rinsing, I did that for a while but it seems like a ridiculous waste of time and water.

I have a lidded nappy bucket. I put a used pair in and cover with cold water. Once there are 4 pairs or so I tip the water out, give them a squeeze and put them in the machine on a 30 min cycle, with laundry liquid and a capful of antibac/antifungal rinse. Then I keep them in the machine for whatever the next regular clothes wash is that day, so essentially they get a prewash and then a regular wash. I have a fairly newish washer, so think that's still less water used than if I tried to rinse them all by hand til the water is clear.

Meant to say that I've been doing this for several years now and still have most of the original pairs. The couple that have given up were because the elastic went, not the absorbant bit. So I really am not sure what the issue is supposed to be with soaking

I tried several brands including Modibodi and cheeky wipes and couldn’t get on with any of them for my heavy periods (which are no more, thanks to Mirena). I honestly can’t see how they’re easier to use than reusable
pads, which are made of better and more absorbent fabrics (at least the good ones are) and can be changed without getting half undressed to do so, and which are less
bulky and more robust to wash and dry. I can’t understand why so many women like the pants over reusable pads.

@BrownTableMat environmental reasons surely?

We don't rinse - just straight into a wash.

We have a 2nd bathroom bin with bucket style inner and lob them in there until washing. Usually do a load daily so they're not hanging around long.