This is not a paid post. It is my first time using cloth pads and I would like to write it down for whoever is interested in tossing disposal pads and venture into cloth.
I have been using disposals for Lord knows when. My first sanitary pads were Southalls, those pads that are maxi in size with a loop on each end of the pad. No sticky backing on those pads, or better still, the ones with “wings”. Pure cotton. I either have to wear a garter kinda thing to hold the pad in place which I eventually got rid of that pain in the butt thing and wore underwear that were tighter to keep the pad in place. My mom taught me to wrapped the used pad with newspaper, and when you are in school, especially while in Primary school, it really sucked coz not many of my classmates have their periods that young. I had to sneaked the big wrapped up bulky pad into my pocket and walked fast to the school toilets. God, I hated those days.
When the sticky backing ones came into existance which I don’t even remember when, woohoo, they were thin ,comfy, and came with “wings”, however, the drawbacks, in my opinion: the pads stink to high heaven when wet and it is due to the chemical used in the pads; when you sweat, it sticks to the skin like glue; the plastic material keeps me warm. But I still used them coz they were convenient.
How I got into cloth pads? I first took noticed of cloth pad some time early last year. I never knew they existed at all. I was surfing the web, probably Googling on something and the result came out cloth pads. I browsed through the site and that was that.
Then I read Jam’s post where he wrote about cloth versus disposals. He wrote the post to emphasize the better use of cloth as opposed to disposables. Some commenter thinks cloth is disgusting coz you need to wash the pads after using them instead of tossing them in the trash. After reading his post, I thought I should try a few and find out how it is and is it really a hassle to wash them: will the stain comes out and how will I wash them, and write my review about my experience.
I ordered my cloth pads from New Moon Pads. This company is a small home business created by a stay at home mom out in British Columbia, Canada. I got myself some - different sizes for different flows. I was still a little skeptical if it would be too warm for me since they are made from fleece on the backing and flannel for the tops. One thing great about these pads from Renee, the owner of this business, the pads do not need any additional layering or stuffing extra layers. They are all-in one pad. Plus, Renee picks the cutest cloths to make these pads. They are so darn cute.
I received them just in time for my period. Wow, I have to say they are very comfortable. They stayed in place which I was very glad. And best of all, they do not stink like the disposable ones. During my heavy flow, I had the pad which has heavier absorbency; no soak through, very good absorbency. How did I wash them? I threw all of them in the washer with my other laundry. My laundry is done with cold water so that works out well. I didn’t have to pre-soak them. Toss them in the washer with the clothes, add detergent and they came out clean, no stains at all. I didn’t put in the dryer with my other clothes. I air dried them and they still worked great.
When at work, I brought a clean one with me, put the used one in the bag. I don’t immediately wash them after each use, just dumped them in the to-be washed laundry. Since I only bought a few, that’s why I only wash them when we do our regular laundry.
Will I continue to use these cloth pads? The answer is Yes, I will. Putting these cloth pads with pretty and cute prints on them takes the period cramps, bloatiness out of your mind. It is slightly more expensive but in the long run it’s cheaper. Moreover, the Canadian dollar is rising, Renee has special discounts on her products. I will need to get more of them later from her, but right now I have to try to use up the disposable ones off slowly, but surely, unless I give them away.
16/07/2008 at 9:11 pm Permalink
My name is Pietro Joaquin and I’m the webmaster of http://pinhole-glasses-direct.com/
I wanted to know if by any chance you would be interested in doing an unbiased review of one of our products.
If you agree, we will send you a product sample so that you can try it and then write a review about it. Please note you won’t have to return the product sample after publishing the review.
Please let me know if you are interested.
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Pietro Joaquin
pietrojoaquin@gmail.com
16/07/2008 at 11:38 pm Permalink
Good to know cloth pads works well. Btw what do you mean by “I don’t wash them each time I used it.” No wash can use? Hehe
Che-Chehs last blog post..City Council Truck Came…
Hahaha, guess I should have re-read my post before posting it
It should be after each time I used them, just wait til it’s time to do laundry, then toss them in the washer.
17/07/2008 at 4:37 pm Permalink
Hi dear :
Cloth pads seem good and long run is cheaper too . this is the first time I see this too . If you keep it for a few day it will be very smelly ..:P ???
pearlys last blog post..Busy week …………….. family visit boots sale ….. more family visit …..
Pearly, no it does not smell. The stinky smell is actually from the chemicals the manufacturers used on the disposables. On the cloth ones, na-da.
18/07/2008 at 1:27 am Permalink
Very nice of you to share with us your experience of using cloth pads.
Jam, thanks to you, too!
18/07/2008 at 7:12 am Permalink
Sounds interesting.
Sent some over - unused ones that is.
OKlah, on my next order, will put one in for you and have Renee ship it directly to you. She does international too.
18/07/2008 at 11:15 am Permalink
Hi Dawn, I guess I’ll abstain from any comments here, ha ha…not ahemmm, familiar this subject.
If you free, drop by…Lee.
19/07/2008 at 12:29 am Permalink
This is the first time I heard of cloth pad.at first i thought you’re talking about cloth baby diaper!!lol!!.I have two questions for you.When you wash with other clothes/laundry in your washer,won’t the bloody pad color carry to your other clothes if the material is frigale?.The second question,if you let the cloth pad sitting for days b4 wash,won’t the bloody stained the pad?.I have problem with my accident white or color underwear,when I used pad without wing,The blood stain still stay after I wash it immediately..I wonder how the cloth material pad won’t..Must learn from you first!hahaha!
Beachlover: The pads I chose are dark colored flannel materials, so when I put them in the washer to wash with other dark colored clothes of the similar material - jeans, shorts, rough wear, underwear. I don’t see any blood color in the water per my hubby, coz he does the laundry. If you are concern about staining the pad or the layering inside the pad, then you can pour some peroxide onto the stain. Peroxide removed blood stain easily, and if you soak them in cold water, the stain will come off too. The blood did not stain any of my pads. They came out all clean. If you want to remove blood stains from your cotton underwear, use peroxide to remove the stain first, then wash it.
19/07/2008 at 2:29 am Permalink
Interesting post. This is the first time I read about cloth pads. I was thinking about what ‘beachlover’ wrote above too. Won’t you stain your other laundry when you wash the cloth pad in the washer with other laundry?
Furthermore when my clothes got stained, sometimes I find it quite difficult to wash out the stain without pre-soaking them. Does the blood come out easily from the cloth pad?
KYs last blog post..My Sister’s Keeper
No, it didn’t stain my other laundry. Wash them in cold water, it removes the stain and my other clothes cames out clean. As I told Beachlover, the pads I bought are made of darker materials, so I put them in the washer together with the darker clothes like jeans, dark colored shorts, rough wear, and underwear.
If you have blood stains on your clothing, use some hydrogen peroxide to remove the stain first, then wash it with your other laundry. The cloth pads are made of flannel cloth on the top and fleece on the bottom. The layers in between are wool and fleece. The flannel material did not leave any stains for the cloth pads I bought. They all came out from the laundry clean.
19/07/2008 at 9:55 am Permalink
An interesting post. This is the first time I have read about a first-hand account of using cloth pads. Thanks.
pys last blog post..Onboard Expedition ‘H’: From Coconuts to Kaya!
PY, it is an interesting experience for me too.
21/07/2008 at 4:22 am Permalink
interesting! just curious hor..since the entire pad is made out of cotton..n cotton soaks liquid..wouldn’t it like..get fully soaked? like the entire pad and get through underneath? erm..not quite sure how to explain this..hope u understand. i have super super heavy flow, 1 large tampon every HOUR..very serious..so just worried
actually it’s like..if u take a piece of cloth..hang it half inside a bucket of water..and the other half leave it dry..eventually it’ll soake up all the water and get drained out the other end
hueis last blog post..Life’s a beach…
Huei, I know what you mean. The inner layers of the pad is made of layers of wool which I believed were washed with something which I cannot remember to make them waterproof. It’s stated on the website. The very bottom layer is fleece which also prevents soaks through. The place I ordered my cloth pads gives its customers options to get which ones they want according to their flow - light, moderate, heavy and night ones too. I have super heavy flows, too, for three days, I bought some of the ones that have more layers of absorbancy. I change my cloths pads as frequent as I change the disposable ones.