How to Hand Wash Reusable Pads

While we have a standard wash routine we suggest, we do get questions from time to time from those without access to a washing machine or from those who, for whatever reason, prefer to hand wash their reusable pads. Sometimes this is a short-term situation, such as a camping trip or a vacation and sometimes it is longer term, such as living in student housing or an apartment with the coin-operated laundry all the way down on the first floor (or non-existent!).

So…can you handwash reusable pads?
Of course you can. We’ll walk you through it!

First of all, the 'how' will depend on whether or not you are using your reusable pads for your period or for bladder incontinence.  Typically, washable pads for bladder leaks allow you to skip the soaking step. Let's start there and then look at hand-washing reusable period pads.

Hand-Washing Your Washable Pads for Bladder Incontinence:

1. While you wait for wash day, when you remove a pad, you can rinse it out first or simply place it, unrinsed, into an open container or wet bag. While it might sound counterintuitive to leave the container open, when you allow air to circulate around your pads, you minimize any unpleasant odours.
2. On wash day, fill a sink or bucket with warm water and add just a teaspoon or so of detergent. Swish it around and add your pads. Spend a minute or so gently agitating them, squeezing the wash water in and out of the pads.
3. Drain the sink and refill with warm water. Use the same gentle agitation and squeezing to get all of the detergent out of the pads. If you still see detergent bubbles, repeat this step.
4. Drain the sink again and gently squeeze out your pads.
5. Hang to dry (or, of course, you can dry in the dryer, if you have access to one).

Hand-Washing Your Reusable Menstrual Pads:

This process is very similar, with the added step of an extra soak to prevent stains. You can skip the soaking step if you are using the Amie Active line of pads.

1. While you wait for wash day, when you remove a pad, you can rinse it out first or simply place it, unrinsed, into an open container. While it might sound counterintuitive to leave the container open, when you allow air to circulate around your pads, you minimize any unpleasant odours.
2. On the day before wash day, fill a sink or bucket with cool water, a little detergent and a dash of Oxi-Clean. Add your pads and let them soak overnight. (We use cool water on this step to avoid setting the stains.)
3. In the morning, drain your pads, give them a rinse and check for any remaining stains. Treat stains with your favourite stain-treatment. Repeat the soak if necessary.
4. When you are ready to wash, fill a sink with warm water and add just a teaspoon or so of detergent. Swish it around and add your pads. Spend a minute or so gently agitating them, squeezing the wash water in and out of the pads.
5. Drain the sink and refill with warm water. Use the same gentle agitation and squeezing to get all of the detergent out of the pads. If you still see detergent bubbles, repeat this step.
6. Drain the sink again and gently squeeze out your pads.
7. Hang to dry (or, of course, you can dry in the dryer, if you have access to one).

Handwashing is one alternative wash routine, but there are actually lots of ways to care for your reusable pads.  To find out more, check out our blog post Other Ways to Wash Your Reusable Pads

Handwashing because you’re going camping?! Way to go! We actually have a blog post just for you: Camping with Reusable Pads