washable menstrual pads

[CatchTheFox]

ok, i am interested to know if people think this is gross or not. 10 years ago i wouldn't have even considered it, but now with 2 in cloth nappies, it's seems like a no-brainer.
or should i try a mooncup?

[lastSplash]

I am curious, and might give some of these a go...

Do mooncups and similar products work well for swimming, when you're lying down / overnight, when you're doing sport, running etc? Most bathrooms in workplaces and out and about don't have sinks in the cubicles, so do you carry wipes around to clean them or what?

How do you wash the reusable pads? By hand? Do you put them in the machine with a normal wash? I wash clothes at a low temperature and wouldn't really want to do a special wash just for these, or to have them hanging around for days until the end of a period... How do you all manage the used pads when you need to change at work or out and about? What do you do between removing a used pad and washing it? Leave it to soak / rinse it off in the sink?

Many questions...

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Good choice, they are good quality and great for someone just dipping a toe in so to speak.

How weird is that tho, when I first looked into them those were the only ones I wouldn't try ( despite a friend raving about them) purely because they are white and I wanted dark colours.

Just goes to show just how personal a choice stuff like this is.

[meddie]

I just bunged them in the washing machine with towels, sheets etc, the soaking removed most of the blood (sorry tmi)
For out and about, fresh pad before I went out and zip lock bag.
I,m not grossed out by blood and fluids , its part of my job but I can understand some may be squeamish about it and not willing to deal with it.
I didn't have much choice really as disposables made me so sore

[Disappearing]

I guess I can see the value in the darker colours, when I think things through, I just have had the whole of my experience so far using Always Ultra etc. so I have an expectation of appearance. Perhaps I should chuck that narrow-mindedness out and embrace the tie-die.

I was also thinking the white would be least appealing to my toddler, who is very curious about these things, I can imagine him wanting to play with them, and the wrestling that would ensue, he takes great delight in tipping my tampon box out down the stairs etc.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Water bottle to rinse the cup over the loo when out and about.

Rinse pads in COLD water then chuck in machine, as long as you use decent washing detergent low temps are fine. But you can soak if you want.

I use reusable nappies so bung them in with those and my knickers but you don't need to do them with anything special

I have troubles with detergent on my underware so I tend to wash with my normal detergent then wash again with a detergent free wash egg ( the eggs are abit shit with anything not only lightly dirty hence the wash twice) because that gets rid of all the detergent, you don't have to wash twice or worry about detergent unless your normal knickers irritate you

( not explaining that well but I know what I mean)

[IneedAsockamnesty]

I remember my eldest shoving tampons up the taps and down the plug hole

If you prefer white then you shouldn't fret about it tie dye is after all not for everyone

[meddie]

they really are comfy, its just cloth against your skin,and not horrible rustly plastic or sticky bits that decide to stick to your muff and give you a bit of a waxing you weren't expecting on removal.

[Disappearing]

I've done it... wahoo!

I just put an order in for a couple of ImseVimse mixed packs, and a Meluna cup too, I was feeling brave.

I'm strangely looking forwards to giving them a go!

Thanks for the links/tips.

[meddie]

I should really consider a mooncup. never dipped my toe there . Has anyone any experience of using them who has fibroids. I could soak through a super plus in an hour during the first 3 to 4 days, can they cope with that?

[BigSpork]

I've become more interested in cloth pads recently as everything is going haywire here. I've had a mooncup for a while, but since my period returned after having DC4, my body seems to be in disagreements with it - I get bad cramps just after I change it and it's just not doing the job as well as it used to (odd as my cervical cap, which is made of similar material though thicker, I'm having no issues with). So I got some disposables for a bit to work out my options and they're just irritating everything horribly. Ended up using a couple of old cloth liners I had when I had my eldest and it was just relief. Sadly only had those left so looking into new things as I want to be as comfortable as possible during what is already a trying time each month.

off to stare at links in my insomnia state

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Yes a mooncup can cope with mega heavy. But I would recamend using a liner as well just incase at least that wa you won't be fretting

[LentilAsAnything]

I use cloth pads (ordered a few on Etsy, all pretty and bespoke) and they are wonderful. Soft and comfortable. And what an enormous saving I've made over the years, and years to come, as well as my not contributing to landfill by not using disposable pads. Cannot bear the thought of shoving something up me and walking around like that all day, so no mooncup for me, thanks. Doesn't sound natural or right.
I used cloth nipple pads too (from Wee Notions), when I was first BFing, no nasty cotton wool sticking to my tender nipples, and again, a saving, financially.

[HollyBerryBush]

Odd how the world turns full circle. I remember my mothers utter humiliation at washable rags when she was a teenager and how she rejoyced in disposables.

[BistoBearWithBaublesOn]

lastSplash I use a mooncup when swimming, running, cycling, spinning and hydrospin. Never had any leaks or discomfort. Have never used disposable pads so cannot comment on them. :)

[Dawndonna]

My 16 year old twin dds use washable pads. They much prefer them, and they just go in the machine.

[WelshMaenad]

I used to row, and I'll tell you what's REALLY gross - lifting your oar out if the sea to find a used tampon stuck to it. I'll stick with my washables, thanking thee.

I use pads from pampered mama on hyena cart which are cute and reasonably priced. I use a mooncup too, love it.

[Himalaya]

Each to their own. I

[CatchTheFox]

well, i've taken the plunge (!) and ordered a meluna, although I'm not pleased at having to admit my hoohaa might be in any way LARGE. If I ever start up a menstrual cup business, my sizes will be XSMALL, SMALL and NORMAL.

[Hippymama]

I love my cloth pads :) disposable ones make me sore and itchy. I used cloth pads for years before I had my son and it was using the cloth pads that made me decide to use cloth nappies with him.

I bought my first pads from wee notions (can highly recommend them) and six years later they are still going strong :) If you are at all handy with a sewing machine, they are ridiculously easy to make too. I have loads made out of a pair of old pjs and a fleece blanket. There are loads of tutorials on the web, but I just traced around one of my washable pads to make my own pattern. I use polar fleece as a bottom layer, sew a few rectangles of either towelling or flannel to the bottom layer to make an absorbent core and then top with either flannel or minky. I just overlock around the edges (or you could use a zig zag stitch on your machine if you don't have an overlock foot). To fasten, I use kam snaps (little plastic snaps, like on washable nappies) but you can also buy the little metal sew on prestuds for a a couple of quid from a haberdashery :)

One thing I have noticed is that my periods have got a lot lighter and much less painful since using cloth pads. I have read up about this and apparently the reason for that is because of the lack of chemicals in cloth pads. Disposable pads contain chemicals that "draw the flow" into the pads and these can cause heavier bleeding and cramps. I would still use cloth pads even if my periods were heavier, but this has been an unexpected bonus for me :)

I am a bit of a lentil weaver (see my username!) and am trying to use washable items as much as we can at home. We are now using washable wipes too and I am trying to cut down on our use of kitchen towels as much as possible having made a set of "unpaper towels" to use instead (Pinterest is full of tutorials!)

[PretzelTime]

Disposable pads contain chemicals that "draw the flow" into the pads and these can cause heavier bleeding and cramps.

If that's true, then it's really creepy.

[valiumredhead]

I use a mooncup and have done for years but am about to go back to sponges as I find the moon cup presses on my bladder slightly, which is really noticeable when I'm in the car for long periods

[bubbles1231]

I use a moon cup at night. Struggle a bit with it during the day.
I have a set of washable sanitary towels ranging from panty liners to a thick night time one. I chose mine in black as I didn't want to be grossed out by stains. I rinse them out in the sink then chuck them in the washing machine. They are more bulky than disposables.

[bubbles1231]

The sanitary towels are Wemoon

[nextphase]

Menstrual cup here also (and I hate lentils!).
Meluna has done me lying down, chasing kids in the park and swimming.

Also reduced the number of days I bleed for.

Recomend Pixie's link above for Luxury Moon also.

[RoadtoSussex]

Turning to the point about mothers/grandmothers being overjoyed to turn to disposable pads.. It was a different situation - from what I know, menstrual pads were literally any bits of cloth that could be used, handsewn in the family. Washing machines were inefficient and much had to be done by hand.

Also, disposable things were seen as the way of the future, never mind that no one gave any thought to green issues.

Now we have all sorts of fabrics that did not exist back then - fleece, minkee, bamboo, hemp, plus the glorious automatic washing machine. So washable pads and nappies are a completely different undertaking to what they were 50 years ago.