Zero Waste Week - Cloth Sanitary Pads

Zero Waste Week - what 1 more thing could you do?  #2 Cloth Sanitary Pads

Yesterday we talked about whether you could switch to cloth baby wipes to help cut down your waste.  Today, let's move on to Cloth Sanitary Pads.  Admittedly this really only applies to all you ladies, but tampons and cloth sanitary pads create a lot of waste.

So why not consider switching to Cloth Sanitary Pads?

I've made the switch and I can honestly say that if you are an existing sanitary pads user (or are about to give birth and will need post-partum pads), then this should be easy for you.

Nowadays, Cloth Sanitary Pads tend to have wings and poppers to help keep your pads in place, and wearing tight fitting bikini or sloggi type pants also helps.  A bonus is that there's no chance of giving yourself an accidental bikini wax when your pad sticky bit slips!

They are made from fabric, with an absorbent layer to contain any blood and many have a laminated lining also to stop leaks.

Fabric is SO much softer against your skin - particularly when you've just had a baby and your poor lady bits are tender.  Plus the absorbency is brilliant.  I can speak from experience when I was caught short attending a baby show recently and my period came a couple of days early and I just had one emergency pad which lasted all day.  Try doing that with a disposable pad!

Washing Cloth Sanitary Pads

The rule here is COLD water first.  And lots of it.  As soon as you put hot water near blood, it 'sets' the stain.  I soak mine in cold water for a couple of days, then I  give them a bit of a squirt with whatever stain removing product I'm using this month.   If you want to go old-school (and aren't squeamish) then gold old-fashioned soap is BRILLIANT for removing blood, just rub the soap over the staining, run cold water over and rub together.  It's quite satisfying really.

 A long cold wash generally removes any lingering stains, plus sunlight helps too.

Not just for periods - mild incontinence

If you can't pass the trampoline test (you know, bouncing on a trampoline or doing both feet off the ground skipping without losing a tiny dribble of wee) then you might also want to consider Cloth Sanitary Pads for mild incontinence.  Forget Tena Lady....

If you want to find out more about Cloth Sanitary Pads, visit our website www.cheekywipes.com, where we're celebrating Zero Waste Week with 25 FREE Microfibre hands & faces wipes when you spend £35.