Period Talk | Reusable Cloth Menstrual Pads
I've started using cloth pads!
No more crunchy sticky uncomfortable pads!
No more crunchy sticky uncomfortable pads!
Those funky blue ones on the right are the
first I ever made. They suck! LOL
If you haven't heard of them before, they are exactly the same
as disposable pads, except you wash them and re-use them
instead of tossing them in the trash. AND THEY ARE COMFORTABLE FOR F***S SAKE. (Also you save a s**t ton of money not having to buy stuff every month.)
If you are out and about you usually
have a "wet bag" with you (much like the bag most people
carry with them for products anyway) and you just fold up the used
pad and put it inside. (You can get a double sided wet bag for
a clean side and a used side.)
At home you can just put them into a bigger bag
in your bathroom. Some people throw them straight into the
hamper or into a bucket. I bought myself a tiny trash can from the dollar
that I keep in my cabinet that I will put used pads in. The lid doesn't seal
all the way which is good. You want airflow to get to them.
(For those of you who are worried about smell, there is no smell. The
scent you usually smell is because of how the disposables are reacting
to the fluids. The disposable pad stinks...not your flow. If there is a scent, it is your natural smell mixed the smell of iron in the blood, but the smell would be very faint if even noticeable at all. I have yet to hear someone have a problem with smell.)
My plan for washing: at the end of my cycle, I will fill the
trashcan with cold water (cold water wont set any stains) and a little
bit of laundry soap or something like Oxy Clean. I will soak the pads in that overnight, then rinse them through and throw them in the washer with my shower towels. Do not use fabric softener, it will affect their absorbency.
Other people will squirt them with peroxide first and then throw them in the wash, some will spot treat, and some will just throw them straight into the wash. There are pads you can find with stain resistant fabrics, but most people don't have a problem with staining.
About fabrics: I wont get too much into that because this post would be five years long, but lets just say there are many many out there with different absorbency's and different feelys. Haha feels. Anyway...onto mine.
I don't have professionally made or bought from peoples online shops,
but I have started making my own. I don't know how to sew and I
don't have a sewing machine so I've done my best. I just found the cheapest 100% cotton fabrics I could find (that were still cute) and got some cotton terry towels to make the absorbent cores. (My period is relatively light so I'm not too concerned about how much absorbency I have.)
I think this is the best way to start out if you are on a budget (like me) because some stores are a little pricey. There are plenty of youtube videos out there about how to use, wash, wear, and what to look for. (It's easy, they are just like disposables and come in liners, light, moderate, heavy, overnight, and even post partum.) So go find some videos!!
Here's some photos of mine.
These are my two liners. They are about 9 inches long. They just have two layers of terry toweling in them. I prefer my pads to be a bit longer towards the back because I tend to bleed towards the back.
These are the three moderate flow pads. They are 10 inches long. They have three layers of terry toweling and one layer of microfiber in it. (I'm not too sure about microfiber, but I heard someone put it in theirs and you can get towels at the dollar store so I thought I'd try it out.)
And last, but not least, is this one. I call this one The Butt Gear. It is a whopping 16 inches long for over night. I know I'm not the only person who has this problem, but when I sleep I get the travelling river. It goes all the way up to the top of my bummy bum. I have yet to see someone make a pad like this, so I guess for over night I'll have to make my own. (I have seen some fifteen inch pads, but the wings are in the middle which doesn't solve the back bleeders problem.) Wesley thinks it looks like a beavers tail. It just has four layers of terry for my light-ish flow.
So now if anyone was wondering, there are other options. I think some
people out there even make cloth tampons. I don't think I'll be trying those, but I will be switching to organic cotton tampons like the ones from NatraCare. (Is that the right name?) Besides comfort and saving loads of money, there is a health reason to switch. Most companies don't even use cotton! They use a mixture of weird stuff that is extremely harmful to our bodies. Even the cotton they do use is bleached by chlorine! If that doesn't scare you enough, search the girl who found a nasty moldy looking bacteria on her NEW tampon. SCARY. (Also there's the risk of TSS)
I love tampons. For the longest time they were the only thing I used. (Even at night which is an absolute NO NO. I just hate being uncomfortable, but now I've found cloth pads. Now I'm on the hunt for those organic cotton tampons!
Be sure to look up some stuff on your own. (Again, lots of youtube videos out there.) I don't know all of the technicalities about the products and the issues, I just know my lady parts like comfort and my wallet like greeeeen.
I am waiting on an order to arrive that I found on ebay. I'm hoping they will work well. They are made from a bamboo fabric that is super soft that goes against your skin. (I heard bamboo is naturally antibacterial.) The bottom layer is made out of a water resistant material to stop leaks. I think the inner core is made from more bamboo to absorb. Here is the link if you would like to buy them yourself, but I suggest looking around a bunch. Especially at reviews on youtube.
WHOOT!
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