To wonder why more people don't use cloth sanitary pads?

[Bex107]

They have changed my life, and I'm so sad I didn't discover them sooner! When my periods came waltzing back just three months after DS arrived I couldn't bear the thought of tampons or plasticky towels, but I couldn't find anyone I knew who'd used cloth. They are bloody (!) wonderful, if you're considering it give them a go - I wish I'd had someone to tell me that!

I think it's great that some people are thinking differently because of this thread. We are lucky to have so many options, to suit all lifestyles. I find my period a drag and it seriously limits my life, regardless of what method I use. Having some beautiful cloth pads brightens it up a bit, and I feel better knowing that I am putting less in the landfill (I use disposables, tampons, a cup and washable pads depending on what is going on). Someone once described it as 'being like a crime scene' which resonated so much with me! Mine are erratic, unmanageable, sometimes light, sometimes crime scene/don't sit down in public heavy, sometimes fortnightly, sometimes six weekly... Thank goodness for varied sanpro!

Not rtft sorry.......

But just to add, I w as incredibly squeamish about the thought of washable pads, mooncup etc. I'd not had period for years having been on contraception. Came off it to ttc and was horrified that most disposable pads were scented, plasticky very slim things that really didn't contain my very heavy flow. I could hee them rustle when I walked. Started using tampons, got toxic shock syndrome

So after much pondering, ordered a starter pack from Honour your flow. They are fabulous! Feel so secure with them on, especially on heavy days. No smell, sweaty feelings etc. No issues with washing

So pleased I gave them a try
Still squeamish about mooncup though.

Re storage when out, I was changing a disposable hourly or more. I could wear a giant washable pad at work, change once. Then fold it in on itself, put into the cloth storage pouch and into a zipped part of my hand bag. They absorb a phenomenal amount and are not wet, dripping or smelly.

Whenever I think about reuseables the cynic in me thinks it's a man's way of getting women to revert to a 1950s model. I know! I know! Completely unreasonable. Also is it because women tend to do the laundry it's 'no problem' washing them?

I am way past the menstrual stage and they wouldn't have been for me as I never carried a bag but someone pointed out earlier that they would be perfect for those days when you are about to come on and you waste pads unnecessarily. I might buy a pack for my daughters for that reason. I've always been conscious of landfill and like the idea of compostable disposables best I think.

If reusables became the norm I think washing machines would be on all the time. I know from reading other threads that some posters don't like having even one dirty item of laundry laying around for more than a day let alone a box of soiled pads!

And seriously, third-hand pads? Some stains? Yikes! Even as a charity shop stalwart I'd definitely buy new.

I love the idea of the free bleeding pants

Might have to look into them

I wouldn't ever wear cloth pads for the same reason that I wouldn't wear disposables. I think they would look and feel like you were wearing a nappy. UGH.

I use a Mooncup. Just as eco-friendly, far more discreet, and definitely easier to wash.

Did none of your mother's teach you that you need to try things first before you can say whether you like them or not?

Yes but only as far as food was concerned.

I made my own cloth pads a few years ago. There are loads of different "fillings" you can use- hemp is very absorbent, or if you don't insist on natural fibres there is Zorb (has to be ordered from the US or Canada though). I used a PUL fabric for the underside to make sure there were no leaks and I generally found them very comfortable, not too bulky and convenient (because I can never remember to stock up on pads/tampons before a period, so it's always an emergency).
I can't remember why I stopped using them- I suspect they were packed away for a pregnancy and lost. I liked that I could make them to fit me exactly, and adjust the length, absorbency and fastenings to suit me. I keep meaning to make some more but I have a mountain of Christmas sewing to get through first.

Yes me too only as far as food was concerned lol
She did however, tell me not to use sanitary towels because they were dirty and would probably pass out at the idea of reusable sanitary wear

She did however, tell me not to use sanitary towels because they were dirty

Why?! It's just blood!

A normal healthy female bodily fluid

YANBU to wonder, but there are many issues that could affect someone's use of them.

They can be prohibitively expensive. Even a reasonably cheap pad will cost at least £3 and that's a lot when you can buy 12 pads from Wilko for 95p. Of course it factors out cheaper in the long term, but often poverty or living pay packet to pay packet excludes the possibility of thinking long term about products to buy.

Obviously if you don't have a washing machine at home and have to use a laundrette, this could make it more difficult as many people wouldn't be willing to take soiled pads to a launderette to wash.

I don't find them messier than disposables personally. I take mine off, stick in the sink, put a new one on, rinse the old one out and wring it out. Then I chuck it in the wash with the rest of my clothes. I wash every day because I have two mucky children and I'm fairly fastidious about having clean clothing on. As well as clumsy 😂 But for those that don't do laundry every day, it definitely could seem a lot worse.

TBH, I make my own out of whatever I can find, like the remnants bin at Fabric Land for the tops/bottoms and old muslin/nappy inserts/tea towels/pillowcases for the inners. But not everyone has access to cheap fabrics, I am lucky to have that. And not everyone has the time or ability to sew them.

To the ladies that worry their periods are too heavy, I actually find them better for heavier periods than disposables. I have very very heavy periods as I have endometriosis, ovarian cysts, adenomyosis and fibroids. I could easily go through 14 pads on my heavy days and often disposables feel moist and gross within minutes of changing. I don't get that with disposables. But they are a bit bulkier, especially for night time pads. Not especially so if they're well made, but enough that people might feel self conscious wearing them at work or whatever. I don't work out of the home so it's not an issue for me.

I wish more people would use them to save on landfill and reduce industrial pollutants. Plus they're likely better for your vulva/vagina health than disposables. But not everyone can or wants to and I respect that.

I switched because I moved to a pathetically high maintenance house whose drains can't cope with even a panty liner (yes I know NOW you shouldn't flush them but didn't actually know this till I was 30 &a my mum always told me to rip them in half lengthways and flush them!) and I much prefer them. I've saved so much money and I like the feel of velour over the plasticy disposable options. I also like that I'm helping the environment. On a heavy day I rinse them but on lighter days I don't bother, then just chuck them in the wash with everything else.

Freebleeding pants? So, basically a cloth pad sewn into the gusset of knickers made specifically for periods? Not really freebleeding then is it?

Freebleeding, according to feminists who support/promote it, is supposed to do away the concept of women being required to use ANY products specifically designed for periods because our bodies are designed to free bleed and this is how women have done it for millennia until the Patriarchy taught us periods were shameful and should be taboo and never talked about.
So, they came up with a bunch of unnecessary products targetted at women, who up to that point had been perfectly happy to shove a few rags between their legs or, if too poor to afford rags, freebleed. Kinda shot themselves in the foot about the whole taboo let's not admit there is any such thing as periods by having these products prominently displayed in entire aisles of supermarkets and advertising them on tv didn't they?

This whole thing is to me symptomatic of extreme feminism gone fucking batshit and cutting off our noses to spite our faces. Yes, women used to use rags or nothing, millions of impoverished women worldwide still do because they had/have no other FUCKING choice or access to personal hygiene products. Same women have/had no access to hot water, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, toothpaste - so should we all stop showering and wiping our arses and brushing our teeth out of a misguided sense of solidarity and free ourselves from male dominance?

It's not really blood. It's mainly womb lining.

Never liked cloth pads, but I loved my menstrual cup. Awesome invention.

Acrasia I can't use scented pads either. I use bodyform & they don't seem to affect me & don't appear to be scented 😊

The same principle works for many things, not just food. It's generally not possible to see what something is like and whether it will work for you unless you experience it.

And the pads your mum was talking about would have been made from the technology of your mum's period. Technology has moved on. Think about the advances in other areas, cars, phones, buildings, make up etc etc etc. It's pretty logical to see that cloth sanitary protection would have moved on too.

and It'sallaboutME , maybe these pants would interest you. www.shethinx.com They donate money from every purchase towards helping sanitary protection projects for women in developing countries .

The only solution isn't disposable. That's surely an outdated model of thinking.

Itsallaboutme, we aren't doing it for reasons of feminism etc, at least I am not. I do it because I prefer it. It works better for me. Cheaper, never runs out, better for my skin, more effective, doesn't use up landfill or other resources.
Please don't say I ought to use something less effective because you think it's more modern...

Second hand ones? That's one step too too far.

I didn't switch to cloth pads because feminism either. Nor even for environmental reasons, though that's a bonus. I did it because they are so much more comfortable than disposables and they absorb much more. Washing is minimal - a 15 minute cold rinse in the machine once a month, then they go in for a proper wash with a load I was doing anyway.

I rarely have to change them outside the house because I mostly work from home but when I do I just roll them up so the blood is on the inside and stick them in a waterproof make up bag until I get home.

When I travel or on v heavy days when I need to be out and about I still use tampons and the occasional bodyform disposable, but I much prefer my pretty soft cloth pads. I can't get on at all with menstrual cups.

Modern cloth pads are not at all like the rags women used to use, they're much more comfortable and reliable, and for women with a decent washing machine these days it's almost no effort (different in the days when they had to be washed by hand!).

I'm not trying to argue anyone else should make the same choices as me, but I agree that all the advertising, education in schools and so on just assumes that disposables ar the only option, and it's good to let women know that there are other choices.

Right. Going to try them.

I've not read through the entire thread yet but.... I've been using reusable pad and a menstrual cup for the past five months and I will never look back. It Really has changed my life. If you're thinking about it, do it!

I was planning on switching but then my periods stopped after getting a cool. If I ever start bleeding again will definitely buy some, hate the thought of all the tampons I've ever used sitting in landfill

Couldn't think of anything worse. With periods from hell needing a bare minimum of 12 MASSIVE pads & tampons in the first 3 days, I wouldn't even dream of using cloth pads. How the hell are you meant to deal with the "used" ones when you're at work. Honestly, jog on.