# Ladies - cloth menstrual pads? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249 "2016-03-08T01:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/1 "2016-03-08T01:59:50Z")
I’ve been thinking of switching to cloth menstrual pads and I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with them? My research shows a very wide variety of kinds, sizes and material for them. They look so soft and comfy! The tree hugger ones are pretty intriguing: > **[Aisle | Sustainable Period Products For Every Body](https://periodaisle.com/?geoip_country=CA)** > > The original period reusables; featuring leakproof period underwear and washable menstrual pads. Formerly Lunapads, we've reinvented the Period Aisle and set the bar for trusted, sustainable period care since 1993. > **[NEW MOON PADS Your One Stop Pad Shop](https://www.newmoonpads.com/home.html)** > > Combining beauty, comfort, and function, New Moon Pads reusable cloth menstrual pads are the smart choice for a positive healthy period. Simple, easy, back to basics. > **[Tree Hugger Cloth Pads - Canadian Reusable Menstrual Pads](https://www.treehuggerclothpads.com/)** > > Made in Canada cloth menstrual pads. We plant a tree for every pad sold! Seen on Dragons' Den and the Ellen Show. Family business with great customer service. Any advice or thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/2 "2016-03-08T02:20:43Z")
I’ve used LunaPads in the past. The full ones are good for laying around the house when you are crampy and miserable, but a little bulky for wearing out and about. I still use the smaller insets sometimes for a liner on light days. I find they are a good tool in the toolbox, but probably wouldn’t work for me as a single solution (my DivaCup comes close, but even that doesn’t cover every need all the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/3 "2016-03-08T03:10:04Z")
I use Party In My Pants. After about ten years of use, they need to be replaced - since I’m pre-menopausal I’m hoping I can just get by a little longer. Love them. > **[Home - Party In My Pants](https://partypantspads.com/)** > > Our reusable menstrual pads are handmade with love in the northwoods of Wisconsin. I’m not a Divacup girl - anything touching my cervix including tampons cramps me up horribly. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/4 "2016-03-08T03:12:27Z")
(I’m also not a heavy flow type of girl - on those strange days when I have heavy flow - and part of being perimenopausal is that nothing quite works the same way it used to - I use disposable pads.) ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/5 "2016-03-08T03:40:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I’ve used LunaPads in the past. The full ones are good for laying around the house when you are crampy and miserable, but a little bulky for wearing out and about. I still use the smaller insets sometimes for a liner on light days. Good info, thank you! > [@Dangerosa](#): > > I’m not a Divacup girl Me neither! > [@Dangerosa](#): > > (I’m also not a heavy flow type of girl - on those strange days when I have heavy flow - and part of being perimenopausal is that nothing quite works the same way it used to - I use disposable pads.) I am also perimenopausal and that’s what’s got me thinking of this change. My periods are so different now, much longer and after days of wearing tampons things just start to get a bit sore. I’m thinking of ordering a start up pack to give it a try. It’s pretty expensive but the amount I’m now spending every month is probably close to $20 so when I compare it to the price of cloth pads, it doesn’t seem all that bad. ---
**Author:** ![pidgeon92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/50afbb/32.png) [@pidgeon92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pidgeon92)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/6 "2016-03-08T03:46:50Z")
I, on the other hand, have had good success with the Diva cup. I used tampons for 20+ years, and have used the Diva cup for the last ten or so. It holds A LOT (I use the smaller of the two sizes). I don’t notice it at all during use, and I’ve had less cramping with it. It takes a few cycles to get used to using it. I wish it had been available way back in the 80s, it would have saved me a lot of grief. And money. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/7 "2016-03-08T03:56:06Z")
I have used [Glad Rags](http://gladrags.com/learn/7049/About-Reusable-Cloth-Pads.html#howtochoose) for close to 15 years. I highly recommend them as both durable and comfortable. I have never had to replace a pad for wearing out. In fact, it’s been so long since I’ve even looked at their website, that I had no idea they has so many new products and colors! Most of mine are the plain organic cotton. I like that you can insert as many liners (or none at all) depending on your flow. I have two of the night pads and the rest are day pads. I see they now have separate panty liners, but I just use the day pads with no insert. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/8 "2016-03-08T03:56:25Z")
Buy one or two and give them a try - if you don’t like them - you are out the $10 or whatever it is for one. If you like them, you’ll have a better idea of how many you need to round out your collection. How many you need depends a lot on how often you feel the need to change them. I find I need to change them less than with normal pads - YMMV I’m cheap - my daughter says like a little bird - and I invested in my collection over several months while I was using up the disposables I had on hand. That way it was never much of a budget strain. I think I have eight or nine, and have to do a mid cycle load of laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/9 "2016-03-08T04:05:35Z")
Definitely buy a couple and give it a try. If you like them, buy some as the budget allows and supplement with disposable until you have enough to get through the month. I just went and looked at my stash and I forgot I have three of another brand that I bought, way back when I first started using cloth. The brand is not on them. I found I liked the ones you could add inserts to better. Like **Dangerosa** , I find I change them less often than I do with disposable. I think it’s because now I can’t stand the way disposable ones feel. I have 15 day pad and two night pads. Only on exceptionally heavy months have I had to wash mid-cycle. Also, I have a bucket that I put in the master bathroom so that the pads can soak until I am ready to wash them. I just change out the water every so often. I usually put a scoop of Oxyclean power in the water. Almost none of them are stained. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/10 "2016-03-08T04:23:17Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I found I liked the ones you could add inserts to better. I wasn’t sure about the kinds with inserts. During the day do you just change out the insert or the whole thing? I guess if you’re just changing out the insert, then you need fewer pads and more inserts? Thank you for all the links! ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/11 "2016-03-08T06:45:55Z")
I’ve used them for about 10 years. I get really unpleasant rashes from having the plastic in disposable pads against my skin. I started with GladRags but found they were ultimately too bulky. Now I use Party in my Pants. They are thinner, more absorbent, easier to clean, easier to carry and store, and less prone to leaks. I could only use my GladRags when I was at home, but I can wear the PIMPs out of the house and around town easily. I use them with a Diva Cup, so they are just for backup unless it’s a light flow day. I started out by getting one and trying it out. They’re around $12 to $15, depending on which size you want. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/12 "2016-03-08T07:02:00Z")
Some 20 years ago, the American Chemical Society’s magazine, C&EN, held a sort of “contest” asking people to name the best chemical advances of the 20th century. I told my mother and her mother. Mom mentioned The Pill and Grandma berated her “the Pill? HAH! The Pill! I didn’t need no Pill, and your Aunt Laura is so stupid she would have gotten pregnant twenty times anyway if she’d had it. Pads! Tampons! THAT is a great advancement!” Half a dozen other ladies born in the first two decades of the 20th century or the last decade of the 19th agreed, as did their very-ashamed daughters who had actually moved from cloth napkins to throwaway ones, and my submission was among those selected for the magazine. So, while I haven’t used cloth pads, the consensus among those who used to live without other options is that they suck - and not enough! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/13 "2016-03-08T07:39:03Z")
I have a Party in my Pants liner, and I find it shifts and bunches. Obviously they work for others. I vote with the others - give it a try. I’m a Divacup girl, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/14 "2016-03-08T13:11:58Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > So, while I haven’t used cloth pads, the consensus among those who used to live without other options is that they suck - and not enough! I use both right now. The cloth pads are way better for me. They don’t stink as much. They are thinner and more comfortable. They snap in rather than using adhesive - so you don’t get that really unpleasant pubic hair pull when they fold over. I change them less. The downside. I have to wash them. I’ll also keep a bucket of water in the bathroom, then throw them in with a load of undies and towels when I wash. ---
**Author:** ![F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/15 "2016-03-08T13:28:36Z")
What do cloth pads have to keep liquid from soaking through the bottom of the pad into your underwear and pants? Anything? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/16 "2016-03-08T13:53:12Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#): > > What do cloth pads have to keep liquid from soaking through the bottom of the pad into your underwear and pants? Anything? A waterproof layer of fabric. I think different brands use different fabrics. Mine feels like a high tech camping cotton - i.e. not raincoat plastic, but something more along the lines of a thin treated canvas. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/17 "2016-03-08T14:24:53Z")
Oh, its that waterproof layer that is giving out on my “used them for ten years” pads - they’ve just been washed so much that they are less waterproof. They aren’t leaking yet, but I’m beginning to see staining on the back side. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/18 "2016-03-08T14:46:41Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > I wasn’t sure about the kinds with inserts. During the day do you just change out the insert or the whole thing? I guess if you’re just changing out the insert, then you need fewer pads and more inserts? I still change the whole thing. The part I like is that if it’s a light day, one liner. Just spotting, no liner. If it’s a heavier day, two or even three liners. I don’t have to buy different sizes of pads for heavier flow vs. lighter flow days or be stuck with just bulkier pads the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/19 "2016-03-08T14:52:16Z")
> [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](#): > > What do cloth pads have to keep liquid from soaking through the bottom of the pad into your underwear and pants? Anything? Mine don’t have a waterproof layer, just several layers of cotton. That being said I have never, not even on my heaviest day bled through all the layers to my clothes. It really depends, I guess, on how often you change them. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/20 "2016-03-08T15:59:36Z")
I looked at the Party in my Pants website, and I recognize some of the fabric they’ve used. As in, I know where to buy it. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to experiment with making my own rather than pay $10 apiece. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249.md?page=2)