I’m going to get pretty candid in the below article. If you can’t handle/don’t like talk about period blood, general dirty laundry, personal hygiene or pictures of pads, please don’t read!
The time has finally come to tell you all about my experience with reusable pads! While I’m excited to get into things, I’m also strangely nervous… this may be the most intimate article I’ve written. I’m also going to be going into pretty strong details, so this article will probably be on the longer side.
Buckle up!
Reusable pads in square/folded form (how I keep them for storage)
I don’t actually remember the specifics of how I got onto the reusable pad road, but I do remember I made my first reusable around this time in 2020. Before starting down the reusable journey, I was using NatraCare Pads, and before that (before going vegan and starting down the rabbit hole of living more naturally) I was using Always.
My periods have never been ‘easy’. They’ve always been the kind that literally makes you unable to get out of bed for 2 days with a heavy flow. Like, bleed-through-a-10-hour-night-time-pad-in-4-hours-or-less heavy. This means I was using roughly 18 disposable pads every period, and since my cycle comes roughly every 24 days… yeah. That’s a lot of garbage to be producing. (We’ll get to that math in a minute)
Now, in early 2020, I was still in my infancy of researching zero waste living, so when I came across an article for the first time that mentioned reusable pads, can you guess my reaction?
“Yuck! I could never do that!”
I bet there’s some of you out there reading this who feel the same way, and that’s perfectly fine! Life is a journey, and if you’re not comfortable with something, you absolutely do not have to do it.
That said, speaking as someone who had that thought, using reusable pads turned out to be a lot less gross than I was expecting it to be. It also very quickly becomes part of your routine so it goes from ‘oh that’s weird’ to normal amazingly fast. I’m not gonna bullshit you and say I was completely over it after the first cycle, but it was definitely no longer weird by the 4th.
If you want to try reusable pads, it might take you longer (or shorter!) to get okay with them, and that’s fine! Any new thing you introduce into your routine will have a learning curve, and that curve will depend on the individual person. For example, I think that snot is grosser than period blood, and I know not everyone would agree with that.
Which again, is perfectly fine.
I’ve also got a secret to share. You ready?
It’s not all or nothing!
You can decide to test out reusable pads, and if for whatever reason you’re uncomfortable or decide they’re just not for you after trying them, you can 100% go back to disposable pads!
There’s no zero waste police going to show up at your door and haul you off to jail. No one is going to make fun of you for ‘not hacking it’ or whatever. You tried something and it didn’t work for you. You know what you do then? You move on!
Though while we’re on the topic, reusable pads are not the only reusable period option that are available. There’s cups, period underwear and more. So if you decide pads aren’t your thing but are still interested in using a reusable, test out one of those.
Hell, I might even try one of the other methods at some point. But for now, reusable pads are working for me, so that’s what I’m sticking with.
Anyway, when I decided to test out reusable pads, I also decided if I was going to do it, I was going to do it ‘right’ and make my own. (I also didn’t have $80 to spend on some of the pre-made ones)
I ended up using some old bath towels and an old fleece blanket I was actually thinking of getting rid of. Instead of turning these items into waste, I upcycled them into something new!
I not only avoided producing garbage when I did this, but I also ended up taking items I barely used and turned them into things I now use monthly! (And sometimes more)
To make your own pads, you’ll unfortunately need to do some math. But don’t worry! I’ve outlined it below to (hopefully) make it easier for you to figure out.
To keep things super simple, I decided since I used 3 pads a day for 6 days, I was going to make at least 18. This way, I wouldn’t have to worry about running out/washing them while I was still in the middle of bleeding, and could instead wash them all at once after my period had ended.
Originally, my plan was to make 12 ‘day’ pads and 6 ‘night’ pads. (3 pads/day for 6 days)
Now, you may be wondering: this is all well and good, but how the heck do you actually go about building a reusable pad?
That’s an excellent question!
As I mentioned above, I ended up using some old bath towels and an old blanket. I used bath towels for the inner/absorbent layers, and the blanket for the back and front of the pads.
I also don’t own a sewing machine, so I ended up sewing all the pads together by hand.
Reusable pads unfolded/open (how they look when in use)
And as you can see from the picture, they turned out pretty good. (And have held up pretty well for almost 3 years of use)
The purple and white you’re seeing the blanket, and yes, that other denim looking material is denim. I ended up miscalculating the amount of blanket I had and had to use the only other fabric I had on hand: denim.
Despite it not being part of my plan, the denim thankfully worked! (Though I wouldn’t recommend using it and won’t be when I make new ones)
Denim pad front (the purple is the blanket)
Denim pad back
As long as you’re using fabrics that have high absorption rates, you can use basically whatever you want. If it soaks up blood and you can wash it, go nuts! The fabric store is your oyster, so to speak.
If you’re like me however and plan on using old towels, I originally did a double layer of towel in the day pads, and triple layer for nights. I say ‘originally’ because I was a few pads in before I realized “wait a minute, I could just make them all the same and then not have to worry about using a day or night pad”.
After I got over how dumb I felt for not thinking of that sooner, I did the rest of the pads with a triple layer of towel in the middle.
‘Middle’ towel layer – if you peeled off the purple or white front, this is what you’d find
The blanket I was using was also double fabric-ed (before cutting up the blanket, the white was hidden by the purple) and after I had the realization about the towels, I also realized I could peel the blanket layers apart and use them separate, so that it could be used on more pads.
That’s why some pictured are purple on both the front and back, and some are only one colour.
If I haven’t said it already, this was my very first time attempting to make reusable pads so yes, there was a bit of a learning curve and when I start making new ones later this year, I’ll be much better prepared.
The very first few pads I made ended up being much skinnier and shorter than I thought they were going to be. This is because of the technique I used. First, I sewed the 3 towel layers together, then attached that to the back, and finally to the front. However, when attaching to the front and the back, to get the towel layer on the inside, you have to attach them backwards, then leave a hole in the front end to pull the pad through.
Sound confusing? That’s because it was!
What I didn’t know at the time, is that when you sew something inside out and then flip it around, you end up losing fabric so the final product ends up smaller than your original design.
These were the very first pads I sewed. (The red one was an extremely failed attempt to use an old night gown)
This means that for example, if you started with something that was 30cm, once sewn and flipped inside out (which is actually the right way) it’s closer to 26-24cm. Which doesn’t sound like that much of a difference, but when you’re dealing with products you’re going to be bleeding on, is the difference between coverage and waking up to having to wash your pants and/or sheets.
So, if you want to make the final product 30cm, you need to cut out your layers bigger than that. Once I figured this out, I believe I made them closer to 34cm. I also wasn’t exactly sewing in the straightest of lines, so if you have more experience sewing by hand (or are going to use a machine) you won’t have to leave this much of a margin.
Luckily, I discovered the error of my ways not too far into the process, and was able to create 18 usable pads.
These finished pads were comparable to not only disposable ones in terms of size, but they also were just as, if not more absorbent!
Reusable pad (right) compared to Always Ultra Thin Extra Heavy Overnight pad in square/folded form
Reusable pad (purple) compared to Always pad length
Reusable pad (purple) compared to NatraCare’s Nighttime Maxi pad length
Reusable pad (purple) compared to NatraCare’s pad thickness
How do you test absorbency? Easily!
All you have to do is place your finished pad on a plate (or in a large container) and spoon warm water onto it.
… I know how it sounds, and I don’t know exactly why, but I read that warm water is the closest thing to period blood you can use to test absorbency. To know if your pad will stack up against your period, it only needs to be able to hold 9 Tbsp (that’s Tablespoons) of water without dripping/leaking.
If it holds more? Even better!
Since I planned on making them all the same (and before using up all my materials), I did the water test on one of the first pads I made. The first pad I did the test on was one of the ones that had the double fabric (before I learned I could pull the purple and white layers apart) and 3 layers of towel in the middle.
Honestly, I was pretty nervous before starting the experiment. I wasn’t sure if my shoddy hand-sewn creation would hold up.
Luckily, it passed the water test!
This is what the pad looked like after 15 Tbsp of water. When I picked it up off the plate, it had no leaks, drips, etc. This meant it could safely hold 15 Tbsp.
Since I’m me and I like to find where the line is, I kept going and stopped again once I reached 20 Tbsp. Again, I thought this amount of water was absorbed and was starting to get just the tiniest of ego boosts. This didn’t last long however, as when I picked the pad up from the plate, it began to steadily leak water.
So I wrote down 15 Tbsp was probably the max and went about making the rest of the pads.
Once I ran into the problem of not having enough blanket and started using denim, I redid the test with one of the denim backed pads, and that one also passed with flying colours.
Water tested denim-backed pad. The blue showing through is from the towel layer
The denim backed pad had absorbed 20 Tbsp of water without dripping. This one I did the same as the first to find out where the line was, and discovered 25 Tbsp was too much.
But since the goal was only 9 Tbsp, I was ecstatic!
Once I was about half done sewing all the pads, I had another realization: I have to put the dirty ones somewhere.
Crap.
Now what?
Could I put them in a container? Maybe, but wouldn’t that start to smell? Do I have a container big enough to fit them all? No, I didn’t.
After a bit of research, I discovered this company Colibri that makes reusable wet bags for well, anything you could need a reusable wet bag for. Food storage, cloth diapers and yes, reusable pads!
I promptly ordered a bag and eagerly awaited its arrival.
Colibri bag with a folded pad to show size
This bag works great, by the way. Though I haven’t really used other wet bags so I can’t compare, it’s done an amazing job of housing my dirty pads, has not ripped, leaked, etc. in the 3 years I’ve had it and when it’s closed is completely smell-free! (The smell from the pads doesn’t get into the air)
I absolutely love this bag and would recommend this company to anyone who needs a wet bag. The bags come in all kinds of fun designs (I got the shark one for Shark Week) and as if that wasn’t enough, they’re also Canadian!
This is actually a good segue into the next thing I’m going to talk about: how to wash your reusable pads.
Now, if you’re one of those people who hears reusable pad and thinks ‘ew’, I’m sure this is the part you’re referring to. But, not to worry. As I said above, it’s actually not that gross!
So, just like with anything else, there’s multiple ways to go about cleaning your pads, but I’m going to stick with telling you about what I do. (Since this article is my experience)
Once a pad is full/it’s time to change it, I unbutton the wings to release it from my underwear (did I mention I sewed buttons onto the wings?) and I place it in the bathroom sink. Then I put a new one on in it’s place (ladies, I don’t have to tell you how that part goes, do I?) and tend to the one in the sink.
I run the dirty pad under cold water and let the blood/water drip out of it until the water starts running clear. Once it’s turned clear, I place the pad back down in the sink, squirt some vinegar onto it, then use a scrubbing brush to scrub the front of the pad clean (the part that was touching my body).
Once I’ve scrubbed as much blood out of the top layer as I can (which is usually all of it, to be honest), I rinse it again with water, then gently ring it out and place it in my wet bag. I repeat this process with the rest of the pads I use during my period.
At the end of my period, I take my bag of pads and squirt them with vinegar again (especially if they smell) as I place them into a mesh laundry bag, put that and the Colibri bag in the wash. I wash the pads on the Delicate cycle with tap/cold water.
Once they’re done being washed, I hang them up to dry on a drying rack.
After that, it’s as simple as taking them off the rack, refolding them (I like to keep them in square form for easier storage) and placing the bag in their spot to be ready to go for next time.
The only reason I don’t put my pads in the dryer is because they’re hand-sewn and I’m worried the strain from the washer and dryer will rip them apart faster. This is the same reason I use a mesh laundry bag, instead of throwing them in my washer loose. If you have machine sewed or store bought reusable pads, this shouldn’t be an issue. (If you bought them, I’d recommend reading the washing instructions that came with them, or checking the company’s FAQ section)
That said, now that I’m in my 3rd year, some of the sewing is starting to come undone anyway and while yes I can re-sew them, I don’t want to repair them after every cycle. Since I switched to using soap nuts I haven’t had any problems with getting them clean. I also haven’t really had any issues with staining.
Sure the purple ones might not show it, but even the white ones don’t really have stains. Two of the white ones finally got stained earlier this year, but they’re so minor it’s very hard to tell. And they still went 2+ years without any, so I’d say that’s pretty impressive!
If I didn’t tell you it was stained, would you be able to see it?
Also, as long as you wash them properly you shouldn’t be worried about stains. Not like anyone but you is going to see them, right? (Unless you decide to start a blog)
Okay, now that we’ve gone through how to make them, how to wash them, etc. let’s get down to details: is the myth about them helping your period symptoms true?
Honestly?
I don’t know!
Your period changes throughout your life naturally anyway, so it could be a coincidence that when you started using reusable pads your period symptoms did. That said, every body is different, and I won’t discount it if people say it has! If you feel it’s helped you, then more power to you.
Has it helped my symptoms?
I can’t say for certain. My cycle has changed since I started using them, but I also turned 27 back in February…
What I can tell you though is that my flow has remained heavy (even though I’m no longer bleeding for 6 straight days) and since I’ve been using the reusable pads, instead of 18 per cycle, now I only use about 8.
I can also tell you that it feels amazing to no longer be contributing to period garbage. It’s something most women don’t think about because it’s a natural process, and because they’re spread out (usually only about 1-2 per month), but if you go back and calculate it, you might be surprised how many pads (or tampons) you’re using.
For example, I keep track of my cycle for planning life purposes, and since I started using reusable pads, I’ve had 15 periods per year. (2020-2022)
So if we wanted to math it, that’s been 45 periods. And if we multiply the number of periods by how many pads I was using (45×18) we get 810.
I’ve saved 810 pads from going to a landfill since I switched to reusable pads. And I’m only in my 3rd year of using them!
Can you imagine how much garbage you’d save if you switched for 5, 10 20+ years? Even if you decide to try them for just one cycle, that would be (roughly) 18 pads you saved.
I don’t want to end on a preachy note – you’re either going to try them or you’re not, no matter what I say – but just take a minute to let it sink in how much good for the planet that would be.
Reusable pads, have you tried them? Do you have any questions I didn’t answer? Leave it in the comments below!
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