I did it! I finally made the switch to mama cloth! If you are unfamiliar with the term 'mama cloth', they are reusable cloth menstrual pads. It might seem gross, but really it's no different than cloth diapering. All you do is use the pad, throw it in a wet bag, and wash every couple of days. Super easy and saves money too!Some of the benefits of using cloth pads are:
- Better for the environment
- Saves toilet paper (you don't have to wrap the pad)
- No toxic materials against your skin
- More comfortable
- No last minute trips to the store for pads - you already have them washed and ready to go!
- Cute prints (come on, you know that's a factor!)
- Some people have noticed reduced flow and cramping due to the lack of chemicals
I saw Posh Pads on a discount website and decided that I would give them a try. I got the chance to try them last week and was happy with the results! I was doing a trial run so I didn't purchase any overnight pads, but I will be purchasing some soon.
Features of Posh Pads:
- Organic
- Cute Prints
- Variety of sizes (from panty liner to postpartum)
Washing the Pads was really easy. All I did was put the pads in the wet bag (hung from the toilet paper holder) and wash when I needed to. Probably every other day. You can soak them if you are worried about staining but I wasn't, since the part that would get stained was a darker color fabric (black, brown, or red). I washed a couple of times during the length of my period. It was simple and I'm never going back to the bleached paper pads again!
So what is the cost difference? This is going to get technical.
As I already stated, I got my pads on a discount website, but for the sake of evryone else I will use the price they state on their website and a general estimate of how many pads one would use during an "average" period .
I am going to estimate a five day period with five regular pad changes during the day and one overnight pad.
A 4 pack of 10 in. light/medium Posh Pads costs $33 - lets buy three of these packs so we can wash every two days. This would be $99 in total
A 2 pack of postpartum/heavy Posh Pads (which is what I would use for overnight) is $29 - lets buy only one of these packs because washing every two days should be fine.
You have spent a total of $128 on cloth pads
Now let's compare that to the cost of regular pads. I will use the Always brand and the prices at Walmart.com for an example.
Always overnight pads are $5.97 for twenty pads. If you use 4 overnight pads per period that equals to 97 cents per period or $11.64 per year.
Always Ultra Thin Regular Pads With Wings are $6.97 for a 48 count. With our previous calculations we would use 25 pads for a five day period. So that calculatesnto approximately $3.63 per period or $43.56 per year.
Adding it all together you spend $55.20 per year on disposable pads
Your disposable pad expense will add up to your cloth one in 2.3 years.
Posh Pads states that their cloth pads should last 5-10 years. If they last 5 years you would be saving $148 and if they last 10 years you will be saving $424!
So, why am I using cloth pads?
To be honest, the price really isn't the biggest factor for me. I mean, fifty bucks a year really isn't that huge of a deal in the grand scheme of things.
The reason I made the switch is for the health benefits (who really knows what are in those pads anyway - and don't get me started on tampons!) and for the comfort.
I hate the feeling of wearing a mini-diaper every time I have my period. A period is uncomfortable already, I don't want the added uncomfortableness of wearing a plastic pad that makes noise every time I move.
When I first heard of cloth pads, I laughed and told Daddy J that I would never be caught dead using one of those. I mean who are these disgusting people anyway? But as I started on my cloth diapering journey, I realized that mama cloth isn't that much different than cloth diapering. I'm happy to say that I love what I have tried so far and am glad that I opened up to it.
Do you use mama cloth? I would love to hear your experience!
