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Flintshire Period Scheme

Welcome to the Flintshire Period Proud  - Product FAQ's

Here at Cheeky we want everyone to LOVE their new reusable period products.  We've got a list of our most asked questions below, but if you have any other questions or something isn't working for you, please do get in touch!  The team here all use the products themselves and nothing is TMI! We want everyone to be 100% happy with their Cheeky pants & pads. 

 

Inserting your menstrual cup

If you opted for the menstrual cup kit or are thinking about using a menstrual cup, it's a great option. 

A menstrual cup can mean no leaks and therefore a stress free period. It can hold the equivalent of 3-4 tampons and can be worn for up to 12 hours! It's brilliant for overnight, school/college days and fab for when you are exercising, including swimming. 

It can be daunting to begin with, looking at this little silicone cup wondering how on earth to get it into the right place to do its thing. All the info you need on your cup here and here is a Video on how to insert your cup with some simple steps below - 

  1. Make sure your cup is clean with warm water
  2. Wash your hands using warm soapy water
  3. Relax and get into a position you feel comfortable
  4. Fold the cup into either one of the 2 fold positions we recommend
  5. Allow the cup to expand and form a seal in the vagina
  6. You are good to go. Up to 12 hours of protection.

Removing your menstrual cup

First of all, relax! As when you put the cup in, get into a comfy position either standing or sitting/squatting and make sure your hands are clean.

  1. Insert your index and thumb to feel the base of the cup 
  2. Pinch the base to break the seal 
  3. Slowly pull down to remove the cup 
  4. Empty the contents into the toilet or sink 
  5. Wash the cup thoroughly and reinsert it 

If you're having trouble, you can try these tips:

  • Change positions 
  • Gently wiggle the stem or base 
  • Gently push the rim in 
  • Remove the cup in the shower, bath, or over the toilet 
  • Gently tilt the cup so one half of the rim comes out first 
  • Activate your pelvic floor muscles 
  • Relax your body as much as possible 
  • Take your time

Sterilising your menstrual cup

Your Menstrual cup kit comes with a sterilising cup for thoroughly cleaning your cup after your period. 

The best way to use this is in the microwave but you can also place your cup inside the container and then fill the travel cup with water and a sterilising tablet

Microwave
To use the microwave for sterilisation place your menstrual cup into sterilising cup and fill it up part way with water. The correct power level/wattage settings depend on your microwave model. The water must be boiling for the disinfection to be effective. If in doubt, please consider your microwave manual.

Most customers use medium power level / wattage for 3 - 5 minutes. The cup's lid must not be completely sealed: otherwise the steam produced by the boiling water cannot escape.

The sterilising cup will be very hot so we recommend that you leave it in the microwave to cool down and take it out after a few minutes.  Otherwise, please use oven gloves.

Store your clean cup in the wetbag until you are ready to use it on your next period.

Prewashing your period pants and pads

It's really important to prewashing your reusable pants and pads to increase their absorbency so give them a quick wash on 30 degrees before you use them. 

We have lots of hints and tips below on washing them once you have used them and the main thing to remember is to AVOID fabric softener in the wash as this will coat the fibres of the pants/pad and therefore limit their absorbency.

To dry your pants turn them inside out as this speeds up the drying process and air dry them where possible. Do not use a tumble dryer and do not put them on direct heat such as a radiator as this can ruin the leak proof layer.

How often should I change my period pants?

This depends on your flow and if this is your first time using reusable period protection you might not be aware of how light or heavy your periods are. 

The rule of thumb is that you would change them as you would change disposable period protection. So if you have a heavy period and you would change a disposable pad or tampon every 3 hours, then check your pants / pad then too.

The pants packs have a mix of heavy flow and moderate flow pants. On a heavy day, opt for the heavy flow pants as these have extra absorbency. A great way to get longer with the pants is to team them with a pad that you can change easily if you are at school or college.

For a lighter flow day, the moderate flow pants will work well. You might be able to wear them all day and change them when you get home if you are at school or college. 

The layers enable the blood to be drawn away so you shouldn't feel wet but if you do, it's an indication that it is time to change. 

If you are at school or college and need to change the pants, you can put the used pair in the wetbag and you can then rinse and wash when you get home.

How often should I change my period pads

This depends on your flow and if this is your first time using reusable period protection you might not be aware of how light or heavy your periods are. 

If you are used to using disposable pads then the reusable pads work in the same way.  The pads in the kits we are offering are bamboo and really absorbent. If you usually use a big pad for a heavy flow, opt for the bigger pad in the pack and change it as you would a disposable pad. If you are changing it at school or college, you can fold it in on itself and popper it closed and put in the wetbag to rinse and wash when you get home.

Using reusable period products at school

It's easy to use reusable period protection at school and we recommend teaming pants with a pad to get longer out of them.

We know it can be tricky doing a full change in a school toilet so if you have a heavy flow day, use a reusable pad in your period pants and this is easy to take out at break or lunch time without having to take off tights/trousers. You can then either pop another pad in, or, your flow might be ok in just the period pants for the rest of the day until you get home.

You can fold the used pads in on themselves and popper them closed and put them in the wetbag. Similarly, if you do change the pants, these can be folded up and out in the bag to rinse and wash when you get home.

Your school might have provisions for disposable and reusable pads so if you needed additional protection, check out....

How to wash and care for your reusable period protection

 

1. Rinse & Soak or Wash within 24 hours

We recommend that you rinse your pants and pads after wearing, or soak in COLD water overnight. If you don’t rinse or soak, make sure and wash within 24 hours of wearing.

We tend to remove our pad or pants and run under the cold tap and give it a good scrub with some soap which is HUGELY satisfying.  You can then store them in a wetbag or wash basket. If there are any lingering stains, we pop ours in this mini strucket with some cold water and a scoop of some Oxi type oxygen stain remover which is eco-friendly and works! Don't leave them soaking for more than 12 hrs as this can start to degrade the material.

Alternatively, if you've got a wash going on shortly, you can give them a squirt of liquid stain remover and pop them straight into the washing machine.

2. Wash in a cool or cold wash, 30℃ or lower

A squirt of stain remover or scoop added to the wash will really help your pants and pads come up stain free.  Plus wash on a cool wash, max 30c!

Bloodstains must be washed out at body temperature or below, washing at 40c will 'set' the stain, never to be removed!  That's because blood is a protein stain (think of an egg) and applying heat to a protein 'sets' it, just like scrambling an egg.  If you wash at 40℃, it's not the end of the world, the pads or period pants will still work perfectly, they just won't look as pretty as they did at first. Avoid fabric softener as it will coat the fibres of the pads or pants and stop them absorbing.

At Cheeky HQ we use a bio powder and Oxy type stain remover. We used to use more 'eco' products but for us, we found that it was a false eco economy as they just didn't get as clean as using proper washing powder and hence reducing the longevity of our clothing.  And when you've got 4 kids who could potentially hand clothing down to one another, that's really important!  It's also important to use a decent length wash cycle.  Rapid / eco  wash cycles which you may use for clothing which just needs a freshen up won't work for stained items.  We would advise a wash cycle of at least an hour to get your pads and pants properly clean.

 

3. Leave to air dry

DO NOT TUMBLE DRY YOUR CHEEKY® PERIOD PROTECTION

It's super important that you don't tumble dry your Cheeky pads and pants, we also suggest avoiding putting them on direct heat sources like a radiator. If it's too hot to hold your hand on, it's too hot for them.

DO NOT USE BLEACH on your Cheeky® period protection

Now we've got that out of our system, we can move on to the other tips:

Can I wash absorbent pants and cloth sanitary pads with other items or do they need to be washed by themselves?

The good news is that you can just bung your period pants or cloth sanitary pads into the wash with whatever else you have got to wash and wash it all at 30℃. There's no need at all to wash them separately which is fantastic news. If you assume that your period protection adds up to half a kg of washing a month, over the course of a year, this is just one more 'average' washload, so very little environmental impact! And don't worry, your husbands shirts etc won't be contaminated by a tiny bit of blood in the wash! Just avoid fabric softener!