Cloth pads! Convert me!

[~Saram~]

It took a long time for me to cross over to cloth pads, I thought they would be disgusting and had no idea how they would wash up, how to store them etc and then i figured I was being a complete hippocrit. If I'm putting cloth on my daughters butt then it should be fine for me too. read up on all the info and bought 2 pads to try out.

To be honest it takes a little bit of getting used to - they don't feel 'dry' like disposables do and yes I change them more frequently not because I have to but because it's damp. Leakage have not yet had a leak in a cloth (exept when I didn't realise it had no waterproof backing) They are more bulky if you get the heavy flow ones but I have since found that as I change more frequently anyway I don't need the heavy flow ones AND after maybe 6mth now of using mainly cloth (3-4 disposables at work) my cycle has changed from very heavy bleeding for4 days and 3 days of light bleeding to 1-2 days of heavy flow and the rest is very light.

Storage - i use an icecream bucket with top on, I wash mine every 2-3days? I sometimes add a drop or two of washing liquid to the soaking water and I empty the whole bucket in the machine then add the nappies and wash. They are a little smelly after 2-3 days but no more so then nappies after the same amount of time. and they wash up beautifully. I don't think I would soak them in with the nappies as the soaking water is very stained.

types - AIO just like the nappies have a layer of PUL or fleece to stop it leaking right through. there are pocket varieties but I haven't tried these. There are also ones without backing PUL (which I don't really get but apparently good for extra air circulation?) Each manufacturer has their own sizing from panty liner up to super/night. Some are trimmer then others and each has a different cut. My favs are obsidens star, clothique and twinklelily all at cloth pad shop. I also tried some from sustainable hemp products that are silk topped and divine but not backed with PUL so don't last all that long. have a look at the fabrics they use, some are flannellette topped, others cotton topped. I found microfleece, bamboo velour, cotton velour and silk to be the most comfortable and stay dry.

I don't use them often when I'm working as I find it impossible to coordinate changing during the day but have just invested in a cup and hope this will mean the end to disposables forever.

Hope that was of some help and happy shopping - oh and beware cloth pad shopping is even more addictive than nappy shopping esp once you know what you are looking for :-)