Washing cloth pads are as simple as washing ordinary clothes. Simply rinse any blood until clean then wash as usual. You can choose to hand wash or use a washing machine.
If you don’t want to wash them immediately you can also store them till your washing day.
There are two common methods to store cloth pads until the washing day.
SOAKING METHOD
After rinsing the cloth pad soak it in a container with plain water. This is the recommended method, as the soaking process helps to ensure that any blood left behind comes out, be sure to change the water daily to avoid mildew.
DRY PAIL METHOD
Fold the cloth pad and store it in a closed container such as a wet bag or covered bucket.
This is not recommended as the dry blood will cause stubborn stain to form on the cloth pad.
Soaking your cloth pad helps ensure that any blood left behind disappear.
However if you forget to change the water on your soaking pad daily. An unpleasant smell might form on the pad that won’t wash out.
To get rid of the odor rinse your pad properly and soak them about 10-20min with few drops of Tea tree essential, then wash as usual.
Tea Tree essential oils will help sanitize the pad by killing any bacteria and also keep them smelling fresh.
1. Rinse your cloth pad before soaking them
2. Change the soaking water regularly / daily
3. Add a few drops of tea tree essential oil in the soaking water to help kill bacteria
When cloth pads are washed well, dried in direct sunlight and stored properly, they will last a long time.