# 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:** 2
**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, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/21 "2016-03-08T16:10:28Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > 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. I think that is a great plan. The ones I have aren’t particularly high tech- they are just layers of cotton flannel. I’m sure there are plenty of instructions online. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/22 "2016-03-08T16:32:54Z")
Hmm, you guys got me intrigued. I also get horrible rashes and cyst flare-ups when I wear traditional pads, and cramps with tampons. Not sure how I have made it this far in life. (Well, ok, I have spent many years w/o periods) I work from home and pretty much live in jammies, so I have about 20 hours a day to not worry about the bulk of my pad. I have too many choices now, though!! ---
**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, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/23 "2016-03-08T16:56:11Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > 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. I don’t think they are difficult to make either with some decent seamstress skills. You might want to buy one to use as a pattern. Its probably work $10 to figure out where the wings and snaps go without experimentation. The shell is nylon - I went and looked at the tag. They are seamed and not surged - though other brands surge theirs. ---
**Author:** ![missouri65](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@missouri65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missouri65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/24 "2016-03-09T00:09:15Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > 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. I’ve seen several patterns online, so you wouldn’t have to dissect one. I’d be interested to know how it comes out if you do make one. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/25 "2016-03-09T00:25:55Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > 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!” I’m depressed by the commercials for the latest “advancement” in managing incontinence. “It’s like a tampon but presses against the urethra”. :mad: Someday I will finally be out of tampons and will have to start using something else tampon-like?! Grrrr. ---
**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 9, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/26 "2016-03-09T01:06:58Z")
I bought one luna pad with insert today at London Drugs. Now I wait… ---
**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 9, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/27 "2016-03-09T01:20:48Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I’m depressed by the commercials for the latest “advancement” in managing incontinence. “It’s like a tampon but presses against the urethra”. :mad: Someday I will finally be out of tampons and will have to start using something else tampon-like?! Grrrr. Aye, there’s a golden decade betwixt diapers and tampons. After that, you’re screwed for the rest of your life. ---
**Author:** ![RollOutTheBarrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rolloutthebarrel/32/1649_2.png) [@RollOutTheBarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RollOutTheBarrel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/28 "2016-03-09T19:04:07Z")
I’ve used Lunapads for a few years and I love them. These are not your grandmother’s rags! 🙂 I initially bought just a couple so I could try them out so I had one period where I used both reusable pads and disposable ones. The first thing I noticed was that the Lunapads are much more comfortable. I liked them so much that I ordered more before that period ended. I’ve found them to be more absorbent, too. The liners are stackable so they work great on both heavy and light flow days. I change the pad daily and the liners as needed. I handwash mine with Oxyclean. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/29 "2016-03-09T19:38:13Z")
I ordered a $3.99 “sample” of Party in my Pants, and $5.99 sample of Glad Rags. I may grab a Lunapad once I see how these cheaper ones work. I just got off the pill in January so I am not really sure what my periods are like right now, I don’t want to invest too “heavily” (HA!) ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/30 "2016-03-10T02:16:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I ordered a $3.99 “sample” of Party in my Pants, and $5.99 sample of Glad Rags. I may grab a Lunapad once I see how these cheaper ones work. I just got off the pill in January so I am not really sure what my periods are like right now, I don’t want to invest too “heavily” (HA!) I’m thinking of ordering a PIMP sample too, once I figure out the size. Like it seems to be both underwear/crotch size and flow level. I just need something different. I chafe now and it’s really humiliating to put diaper cream on your own ass. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/31 "2016-03-10T04:41:29Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Aye, there’s a golden decade betwixt diapers and tampons. After that, you’re screwed for the rest of your life. :mad: I didn’t know I really needed to revel in those years between 2 and 11. If I knew then what I know now… ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/32 "2016-03-10T16:03:50Z")
Please be aware of “Toxic Shock Syndrome”… [Toxic Shock Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes, Tampons, and More](http://www.healthline.com/health/toxic-shock-syndrome#Overview1) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/33 "2016-03-10T18:57:26Z")
> [@Me\_Billy](#): > > Please be aware of “Toxic Shock Syndrome”… > > [Toxic Shock Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes, Tampons, and More](http://www.healthline.com/health/toxic-shock-syndrome#Overview1) Your link provides no evidence that there is any increased risk of TSS with reusable pads. And I’m thinking the sample size to get correlation would be pretty small. Reusable pads are pretty niche and TSS is relatively rare. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/34 "2016-03-10T19:21:29Z")
The linked article doesn’t even mention pads, reusable or not. Am I missing something or did **Me\_Billy** just neeeeeed to get a comment in on this topic? ---
**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 24, 2016, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/35 "2016-03-24T23:41:11Z")
Aunt Flo has arrived! All I kept thinking all day while wearing the cloth pads is “why haven’t I always been using these?!” I am completely amazed at just how different they are and how much I love them. I will never go back to disposables and I’m bummed that I have to even use up the products that I have. It’s like for all my life I’ve been wearing clothes made of potato sacks, going along thinking that the scratchy, horribly uncomfortable clothes are normal then having someone hand me a flannel shirt and hearing angels sing. When I first put one on, it felt like a soft, warm hug to my skin. I had to keep checking to see if it had migrated somewhere because I couldn’t really tell it was there. I also didn’t miss the surprise bikini wax throughout the day! So I got three brands to try. For each brand I bought one night pad and one day pad. Lunapads: my favourite! They are the perfect length, super soft and work great. With disposables you feel the pad get wet and squishy and then you know you have to go change it. With the Lunapads it just always felt dry so I did have to go check more often than I normally would to see what was happening down there. No leaks at all, just comfort and no crinkling diaper sound when I walk. Also I love the different prints and patters. I especially love the unicorn pattern I got! 🙂 Treehugger pads: Loved them! I loved them just as much as the Luna’s. The only difference is I found that I like the ones with inserts better. I just put on one pad and then change out the inserts as needed during the day. The Treehugger ones are even softer than the Lunas. Lots of cute and fun patterns too. I love the sockmonkey nighttime pad! Goddess Moon: didn’t like these at all. Too stiff, the material isn’t soft and the snaps are too close together so the pad has to really bunch around the underwear to snap the wings. I’m now a padaholic and spend hours online looking at patterns, sizes and designs and have delusions of grandeur about sewing my own and starting my own business. 🙂 I’m now trying to convince all my female friend that they need to switch. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/36 "2016-03-25T03:35:18Z")
I fucking hate getting my period with a passion. But now I have these samples I bought and no Flo and am sorta, kinda, jealous. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/37 "2016-03-25T20:34:13Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > 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. This is exactly how I do mine. > [@Nava](#): > > 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! These ain’t your grandma’s pads! I hate tampons as I leak anyway, and I get horrible diaper rash from disposables. And I am much too old/young for diapers. I switched a couple of years ago to reusables and I regret not having done much earlier. If any of you sew, and is on Facebook, there’s a group for people who make their own. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/38 "2016-04-11T02:38:24Z")
I got my period a couple weeks ago and went right for the cloth pads. I was sort of disappointed right off the bat because I didn’t plan properly. Meaning I used the pad first thing in the day and say at work (which is at home) all day and then went for my swimming workout which meant tampon and so that was it for pad 1 for the day. Cuz I wasn’t going to reuse it. Ick. But I had a second pad. I was wearing a dress the next day. I was gonna just wear the pad but I chickened out. I did use it WITH a tampon so I could be totally secure while in the dress and that was nice. Nice to not have to wear the plastic pads which give me a rash. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/39 "2016-04-11T02:47:10Z")
Whoops, posted by accident. Anyway one problem I had which was awful was that the damn pad flipped over when I went to the bathroom. As in the part that was supposed to be upwards was downwards. Because there’s no stickiness. I also was using a little button piece that made the thing wider called a “wing extender”. So I walked around like that for a few mins before i had to go back and fix things. Glad I didn’t sit down and was wearing a tampon. Anyway so far I am not blown away. Because I want to change a pad 2-3 times a day and I don’t have that kind of investment in the pads yet. I also need a longer pad, like a nighttime pad, for regular use. So the ones I tried were too small. With my history of not having a period for many years and then having irregular periods and then having crazy heavy flow I am just fucking awful at managing having a period. Plus right now I am doing a different thing with hormones so my period is different AGAIN. So maybe I am not the best person to review menstrual products. Sigh. I will probably use the pads in the future as pantyliners. I am not sure if I will order more. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249/40 "2016-04-11T08:28:03Z")
Has anyone here tried the Thinx underpants? They’re just underpants with some kind of built in miracle fabric that handles the period material. They’re pricier than I can afford so I haven’t wanted to take a chance on them. But I’m thinking about it. > **[Period Underwear | Thinx](https://www.thinx.com)** > > Period Underwear | Thinx [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-cloth-menstrual-pads/748249.md?page=3)