How to Wash Your Cloth Menstrual Pads

Cloth menstrual pads are an excellent alternative to disposables. You do not have to throw them away, they are reuseable! All you have to do is wash them. There are 3 different methods in the first step to washing your pads.

Rinse and Soak: This is the method most women use when washing their cloth pads. When the time comes to change your pad, you take it to the sink and rinse it with cold water. Once you get most of the blood out or when the water runs clear, take the pad and place is in a container with cold water to soak. These are usually plastic containers, old cookies jars or soaker pots. Soaker pots are made especially for soaking pads and can be found online. Some women like to add dish washing or laundry detergent or color safe bleach like Oxy Clean to their soaking containers, but this isn't necessary.

Every 1 - 2 days, make sure to pour out the water in the soaker pot and replace with it fresh cold water. If you don't, it will tend to get a little smelly. If you'd like, you can pour out the soaker water over your plants, it's suppossed to be great for them! You can keep your soaker container under your sink, on the back of the toilet or anywhere that you have room. It doesn't necessarily have to be in the bathroom, but it's most convenient.

Rinse and Dry: If you don't want to soak your pads, just rinse them out in cold water in the sink to wash away the blood. When most of the blood is rinsed away or when the water runs clear, wring out the water from your pad and lay or hang somewhere to air dry. Once dry you can keep the pads in a bag hanging in your bathroom or wherever you have room until it's ready to wash them.

No Rinse and Fold: This really isn't a set in stone method, but it's by far the easiest. When you change your pad, simply fold up your pad and close with the snaps on the wing. If your pad is wingless just roll it up. Then take the pad and place it in a dry container or in a bag. When it's time to wash you can unfold your pad or leave if folded and throw it in the washing machine. This is the easiest way to keep your pads until you wash them, but you will more than likely get stains on your pads.

Once you decide which way you'd like to keep your used pads, you can move onto washing them. When you're running low on pads or when it's the end of your cycle, it's time to wash your pads! To do this, run a cold cycle on your washing machine. You can add detergent and/or stain removing powder to the water. Add your pads (if you soak your pads, you can just put everything in the washing machine, water and all) and let it soak for a little if you prefer. This can help remove stains.

In the last rinse cycle, you can add some white vinegar which helps neutralize odor and acts as a fabric softener on your cloth pads. Your pads will not smell like vinegar, trust me! You can also add tea tree oil which can also help with any odors and it has anti-bacterial properties if you're concerned about getting your pads even cleaner.

Then do a hot cycle with nothing added to the water. If you're worried about stains, before you do the hot cycle, remove all your pads and add stain remover directly to the pads. You can use the spray on type or a stain stick, whichever product you prefer.

After you're finished with the wash cycles, it's time to dry! A lot of women like to dry their pads in the sun. The sun is a natural way to get rid of stains and germs! You can also air dry your pads inside on a wooden drying rack or anywhere you can lay or hang your pads. Some pads can be dried in the dryer. Make sure you check first since all brands of pads are slightly different and it might not be recommended. If you'd like to extend the life of your pads, air drying is best.

What NOT to do when washing your pads:

Do not use bleach! This will ruin your pads!

Do not use fabric softener of any kind. No liquid or sheets! Your pads will no longer be absorbant!

If you do not have access to a washing machine, you can hand wash your pads. Many women do this and have no problem getting their pads clean. If you hand wash your pads, I highly suggest using the rinse and soak or method, as this will save you time in the long run. To hand wash your pads, fill up your sink with cold water and detergent. Add your pads and swish them around for a few minutes. Push them down in the water and let them soak for a half hour to an hour. Come back and swish them around more, wring them out and rub them together to get the detergent and water in throughout the pad.

Drain all water and rinse them with cold water, making sure to wring them out to get out as much detergent as possible. It might not be easy to do a hand washing with hot water like you would with the washing machine, but I would still do the best equivalent to a hot wash. To do this, fill up your sink again with the hottest water you can get. Leave your pads to soak again for as long as you feel necessary, 15 - 20 minutes should be plenty. Then drain the water when the water has cooled down and wring out all your pads. Then air dry.

You're all done! It might seem like a lot, but it really isn't. It's very much worth it and before you know it, it will become second nature and you'll think nothing of it!