Washable Sanitary Towels

[WigWamBam]

I get really sore using disposable sanitary towels, and have been thinking about changing to reusables. But I don't know where to start! Does anyone use them and have any recommendations?

Please don't turn this into an argument on the rights and wrongs of disposable sanitary protection ...

do you use the pads on lighter days? or do you sometimes use the pads instead of the mooncup- i tend to use pads more than tampons.
what about in the bath

Thanks JanH for those links, feeling sick now
can't get one question about having to sterilise against possible "lurking yeast" out of my head!!

Yes, you just tip it out! In a public loo, I just tip it into the loo and wipe it with a piece of loo paper, before putting it back in. At home, as the basin is nearby, I would rinse it out befor putting it back.

mooncup in the bath i mean- tampons get 'wet' in my experience- is there any adverse 'thingy' with the mooncup

Sorry, next question - is it uncomfortable?

Agree with mtm, very pleased with my mooncup. You just empty it down the loo, then wash it out. If no basin near the loo, you can just wipe it out with paper and put back in, and give it a proper wash when you get home.

I only had leaking the first few times, before I'd cut the stalk bit to the right length.

It takes a wee bit of getting used to, but when properly inserted, you can't feel it at all, I mean that!

As for the bath, no problem, no sogginess!

Sorry have to go now, but will be back tomorrow

Posts crossed, mtm. Not uncomfortable once you've cut the stalk to the right length (pretty short in my case).

Only drawback -- dh collapses in giggles at the mere thought of mooncup. Cue endless jokes. I'm hoping he'll grow out of it at some point...

what about the pads though? Do you get any leakage? What about underwear

Thanks for that MTM. Sorry to be a total pain in the a but can I just ask one last question. Obviously you need to insert it properly but is there any risk of it dislodging or falling out when properly inserted?

5{washable pads. I'm not sufficiently earthy for that.

No more leakage with mooncup than with tampons, once I'd got the hang of it. It did take a couple of periods for it to feel normal -- was a bit freaked out that i might cut too much of the stalk off and not be able to remove it. But suspect that's a groundless fear for someone who's had three children.

Not too keen on the idea of the mooncup, actually - can't even use tampons, so I don't hold out much hope for that!

Thanks for the links, carrie, mts and merrytismas, I'll look into those (don't really fancy the baby sock, tbh, wsk!)

this thread is an education to me. i thought i was pretty up on natural products, but obvioulsy not.
what is a babysock?

Sorry, stitch, it was a reference to a previous thread (a silly one, strangely enough) where for some unearthly reason we were discussing alternative uses for baby socks ... take no notice

There's some really fabulous looking STs on those threads, although I think the Hello Kitty and tartan designs are taking the rise a bit!

my mum used to use terry towelling pads that she made herself!!!!!

I've seen that discussed before, I think - but I wouldn't know where to start! I just wondered if anyone had tried the ready-made ones and could recommend a brand/system.

How you doing today, bonkerz?

am good thanks! have spent the day resting and no more bleeding so am feeling more relaxed! Have just got back from a friends 30th party where i was treated like queen so am feeling good thanks! am heading off to bed now for some MORE rest!

I've done that in my student skint/right-on days. You basically cut whatever's handy (old t shirts/towels depending on absorbency requirements...) into a sensible sized rectangle (eg. roughly A4 size, which then folds into 3).

When 'used' you rinse under the tap & then launder normally.

It works perfectly well - certainly I wouldn't buy disposable sanitary towels now, although tbh I find tampons a bit more 21st century!

so what do you use now then carrie- tampons is it or washable?

Great news, bonkerz, keep well.

Neither! Ds is 4.5 months, bf'ing...not needed either for over a year!

Tampons most recently as I'm now NOT a 'knit your own muesli' type student & no longer much fancy hacking up old t-shirts on a regular basis - but definitely tempted by fancy leopardskin pattern re-usables, especially since I've been pleasantly surprised by the painlessness of switching to reusable nappies.

Actually, the leopardskin ones look quite funky ... (or perhaps that's just me).

my flipping af came back when dd 12 weeks even though i was bfing and still am

Been pregnant for 9 and a half months but was using a mooncup (great- needs a bit of practice but much more comfortable than tampons once you've worked out how to get the damm thing out- break that vacuum- otherwise ouch ouch ouch!).

Also used washable pads quite a bit. Bought a selection- and would recommend any with fleece and waterproof backing (some don't have the waterproof backing- fine and comfy but not for heavy days) and fleece just stops everything getting wet and gooey (would highly recommend fleece liners over anything else in nappies as well- took me a long time to switch but can't understand why- it's great stuff).

I actually think that washable sanitary stuff (and mooncups etc) are heck of a lot easier to deal with than washable nappies. I was a real nappy obsessive (even sold the things) but I suspect number 3 will be using disposables quite a lot, just because of restrictions on our washing machine use and dryer (ds1 based- don't ask) Never felt hassled about using the washable pads or mooncups though.