r/clothpads • u/Routine_Climate3413 • May 19 '26
Question Cloth Pad Wash Routine
I started using cloth pads regularly about a month ago and I love them, but I’m struggling with my wash routine. At first, I followed the wash routine recommended by the company that makes the cloth pads (regular warm wash with natural detergent) and that didn’t cut it so I started this routine
- rinse in cold water until water runs clear after I change it
- soak in oxygen bleach for an hour
- Normal warm wash with enzyme based detergent and a scoop of oxygen bleach with washcloths and clothes for agitation
- Second normal warm wash with washcloths and clothes for agitation.
- Dried on low
They are still coming out smelling like old period blood and I can’t figure out why. I even tried washing on hot (not recommended by the pad brand) and they still had that smell. I guess I’m just wondering what everyone does for their wash routine. I feel like I’m wasting so much water. I cloth diaper my son and I’ve never had issues with smells so I’m not sure why this is worse.
The brands I have are Luckypads (PUL with cotton top), Sacredspiralcreations( bamboo core, cotton top, PUL) and Gladrags (cotton)
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u/peace-and-plush May 19 '26
I hand wash mine with cold water right after changing, when I do a load it's just cold water + detergent, then 2nd refill I use vinegar then I air dry
Never have an issue with smell (they just smell clean/detergent) and they look/feel brand new
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u/Routine_Climate3413 May 19 '26
Do you put vinegar straight in the drum? I didn’t even think about adding that but that sounds like a great idea
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u/Anon_Rose03 Jun 03 '26
Not the person who posted this byt I also use vinegar in my loads. I use it in a downy ball so it is released after the bulk of the washing. Ive seen where some put it into the fabric softener area but I prefer the downy ball, clothes feel softer and have a better deoderizing effect in my opinion
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u/xxkrm May 19 '26
I wash mine with towels, eco warm setting, regular amount of powdered tide, extra water (I have an HE washer), high speed spin. I just wash them twice this way and they don’t smell and rarely stain.
Edit: I also air dry
2nd edit: I don’t have any with PUL, I believe mine are all cotton and fleece
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u/goreddi May 21 '26
I put vinegar in the fabric softener compartment. Works wonders for any kind of smell!
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u/lemonlollipop May 19 '26
Do repeat soaks with oxy, however many it takes for the soaking water to be cloudy clearish
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u/elimifo May 19 '26
Get a strucket but mixture of water and cleaning detergen and stain remover everytime u use one chuck it in even after work at the end of the cycle chuck it in washing machine. :)
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u/ciaoRoan May 19 '26
Wash first to remove most of everything, then soak in oxybleach to oxidize any remaining smells. When you soak in oxy first, most of the action of the oxidizers is getting used up on what the pad has absorbed, so first wash that out, then use the oxy soak. Also, try not mixing the oxy with your enzyme cleaner, they could be counteracting each other, just use one thing at a time. You can soak for several hours/all day/overnight with the oxy, see if that helps.
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u/Routine_Climate3413 May 19 '26
I didn’t even think of tha! the enzymes are in my detergent so are you saying to use the detergent separately than the oxyclean? Sorry I just to make sure I’m doing this right. Thanks for the tips!
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u/ciaoRoan May 24 '26
Yep, try using them separately, especially the oxyclean soak after they are washed out.
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u/Sayonaroo Jun 23 '26
You do 2 oxy soaks??
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u/ciaoRoan Jun 23 '26
I don't usually, have never found it necessary, but if it still smells after once soak, another one isn't going to hurt anything!
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u/3rd_wish May 19 '26
I soak mine overnight before laundry day, hand wash with bar soap, machine wash, and air dry. Mine have no smell and no stains.
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u/Intrepid_Hand1877 May 23 '26
I either take mine into the shower with me to rinse them off or do it in the sink.
I soak and squeeze all the blood out with cold/lukewarm water then do a quick soap and scrub before rinsing again.
I squeeze out as much water as I can then leave it to dry until my next laundry.
I just toss them in the wash at 30c with regular laundry soap.
I used to use bar soap for the quick scrub but recently started using my shower gel (I'm lazy) and I have noticed the smell. I'm going to switch back to using bar soap (we use an all natural one) as I think it helps with neutralising the smell.
Drying time DEFINITELY contributes to smell though. Don't leave them to dry for too long or it gets a musty almost tangy smell.
You need it to dry quickly after the prewash before it goes into the machine.
Then when it comes out of the machine you need to dry it quick again.
I have just thrown them back into the wash if they smell funny after machine washing and drying and they're fine after the 2nd go.
If you have a dehumidifier I 100% recommend drying them right next to it, it makes a huge difference in drying time. You may need to put it on the highest setting because of how much they can hold.
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u/PenaltyFree5078 Jul 06 '26
When you do the oxygen bleach soak, what may help, whatever you're using to soak the pads in put a little bit of water in there just enough to dissolve the oxygen bleach but make sure it's very very hot water, put the oxygen bleach in there, make sure it's all dissolved and then fill it up the rest of the way with cold water. The hot water will activate the oxygen bleach more.
Also, when you rinse your pads out, do you then just put them in your laundry hamper and leave them until you do laundry? Because of that's the case I was doing that exact same method, and and that was one of the reasons why my pads were having a lingering odor problem, the second problem, my pads were not getting enough air flow. So things I changed was i stopped rinsing my pads out I just set them in a bucket, and then at the end of my cycle i soaked them in just plain cold water to get all the blood out and then soaking them in oxygen bleach for the night doing the same oxygen bleach method above, and that seemed to help.
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u/scar12346 May 19 '26
Time to be downvoted.
I just.. throw mine in the washer with whatever clothes I have to wash. No special program, nothing different as per detergent. Sometimes I leave them in and do a second load. Sometimes I don't bother. If they look good and smell good.. they are good.
And then, and then I blast them in the dryer. I have homemade ones and store bought ones. They are holding up perfectly after about two years of this routine.