Reusable sanitary pads... advice please?

Question

I was shocked to learn how damaging sanitary wear is to the environment so I've already switched from tampons to a a menstrual cup instead... can't believe how much better they are and how much money I'm saving while I'm saving my body and helping the earth at the same time!

So anyway, I still occasionally use sanitary pads/panty liners before or after my cycle just in case as I don't need to use the cup then. Also for days when I'm particularly heavy just to have a bit more piece of mind.

So can anyone give me any advice on reusable pads? How well do they work and is it a lot of hassle cleaning them? Also, most I've found seem to be white... don't they look all stained and nasty after a while??

Lastly, can anyone recommend where I can buy them? Preferably in the UK but I don't mind if they're not. Thanks :o)

Answer 1

Here's a link you might like (in the U.K. even!):

http://www.drapersorganiccotton.co.uk/in...

Best of all their are some colored ones too.

They are a pain to use if you are not at home.  You cannot very well set them to soaking in the office, can you?

At home, if you toss them directly into a plastic container of cold water mixed with some baking soda, they actually come pretty clean.  Over time, they eventually get a bit tan looking.

They are actually very, very easy to make, even if you do not have much sewing experience.  

To use them, you need to sew a bit of velcro in your panties, since there is no sticky tape on them, to hold them in place.  Be SURE to sew the soft part of the velcro in your panties, and not the prickly/hard plastic side!  ~lol~  You'd be suprised how many make that mistake!

I've found most ladies who have problems with the pads staining are just starting out using them.  They do not have enought of them to keep changing them, and keeping them soaking in cold water.  You need to change them more frequently than the commercial disposable ones.  Also ladies new to make mistakes like putting them in hot water (will set the stain forever) and/or using the wrong cleaners on them.  

Ladies are able to keep baby diapers fairly snowy white.  You can keep the reusable pads suprisingly stain free.  My sugestion is buy some, find a style you like, then learn to make your own.  You can then decide on patterned fabric, or just plain white or some other solid color.

By the way, hydrogen peroxide is a WONDERFUL whitener.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

P.S.  They make outstanding absorbant bandages in an emergency.  One of my horses cut an artery open on her leg, during a HOWLING blizzard.  Blood was shooting 15 feet across the snow.  Three pads, and an ace bandage tightly applied to the wound stopped the bleeding, and saved her life until the Vetrinarian was able to make it out the icy roads...in fact I completely stopped the bleeding.

Answer 2

Visit Craftster.org (not .com!), where there's a large thread on making your own fully re-usable pads from flannel. You launder them with the rest of your laundry. Prints are recommended, and white or pastel backgrounds are not recommended; the combination of a busy pattern and mid-hue or dark colors means the inevitable stains are not very noticeable. Fabric stores have many, many choices for making pads that are actually cute. Check the juvenile prints and quilting flannels.

Our daughter made some with frogs, another with zoo animals, another with airplanes...

Answer 3

Try ecowise.com; they have some orgnic cotton reusable pads. And kudos on making the switch!

Answer 4

i dnt quite fancy using the cup or reusable pads....

But i think the way forward would really to be having the injection or going on the pill.....thats just me though....convienent really not to damage the environment and not to be pregnant at the same time.

The same (kind of) goes for babies and disposable nappies isnt that bad for the environment also?

Answer 5

go on the pill, or get the contraceptive injection.  you can stop your periods and not have to worry.  i've saved an absolute fortune in sanitary products and generating landfill.

jenny84 - the contraceptive pill and injection are free in the UK - you don't have to pay for it.  suits some but not all.  since i get unbearably painful and heavy periods, I find it far less disruptive to my life (and less messy) to just not bother with them.  When I do, I end up having to take 2 days off work so I can throw up in the privacy of my own home, and frequently black out with the pain.  As I discovered in January (came off the pill by accident), i also suffer with mittelschmerz which is pain on ovulation.  I was in A&E for 3 hours while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me.

Answer 6

www.wallypop.net  sells reusable pads under the wpliving section. they also have a lot of info about them. how to clean then and care for them and ideas to make them convenient.  After ordering a few from wallypop I started making my own based on the ones I bought. (make sure the bottom layer is water proof)

Answer 7

You should really throw them away in the garbage and not flush them down the toilet.  That's probably why your plumbing is clogged up.

Answer 8

Sorry, the whole idea of reusable sanitary wear leaves me cold,sounds most unhygienic,I can see why you're concerned for the Environment,but why not ,when you use the pads ,just incinerate them instead of throwing them away.

Answer 9

Hi ya, well ive been using alternatives for a few years now, the moon cup i dont use so often now i have found an ethical source of sponges, and i just buy cotton dish cloths which i fold to size (as you said though, they are white and dont come up white ever again!)

I know a woman who sells reuseable pads,moon cups and sponges, plus a community co-op and you can get more info and suppliers from WEN, Womens Environmental Network.

I have seen various types of reusable pads and have seen dark purple ones!, they came in various styles and some were organic but they were the pale unbleached cotton ones. I think you may be able to get instructions how to make your own from WEN, so you could choose your own colour.

To help remove stains - soak in cold water (im pretty sure salt is good to add but you might want to double check whether it works with blood), borax may be a good thing to wash them in after soaking, lemon juice and sunlight.

Items that come in contact with proteins (body fluids) should be washed in cold water (that includes your knickers).

Hope that helps.