An article by Diane Annett
Cloth Sanitary pads are reusable sanitary pads that you wash and reuse! They come in different lengths and absorbencies just like disposables.
Cloth pads are my favourite reusable swap; they make my period more enjoyable and they
have made my cycle shorter and lighted my flow. They are also really pretty to look at and super soft and comfortable to wear!
Did you know a disposable pad can contain the equivalent of four plastic bags and can take 100's of years to decompose. Also most disposable period pads and tampons contain toxic chemicals such as: Styrene (used in rubbers and resins), Carcinogen Chloromethane (used in petroleum refining) , Acetone (used in nail polish remover) and Choroethane (used in Styrofoam).
Washing CSP is easy and not gross at all. I store mine in a wet bag until I'm ready to wash them. On wash day I run a cold rinse first; this is to make sure the pads are being washed in clean water and prevents staining.
Then I run a normal wash cycle with detergent; you can also use a stain remover if needed. But no softener as this will reduce the absorbency. You can bulk out your washing machine with other laundry if needed.
If you are using cloth nappies, CSP can be thrown in with the nappy wash!
They can then be air dried or tumble dried on low (depending on the manufacturer instructions).
And used again and again!