FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. WHY USE CLOTH?
Using cloth pads is a healthier choice for you and the enviroment, you are reducing your exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins found in disposable menstrual products and reducing less waste for landfills. No more sweaty, scratchy disposable pads, no more running out of pads and trips to the shops.
Using cloth pads will save you $$ while the initial out lay can be expensive in the long run you will save. Pads if cared for properly will last at least 5 years. We have tested our pads and so far they have with stood at least 150 washes.
If you use $15 of disposable products per month that’s $180 per year over 5 years is $900. Many women report less irritation when using cloth and a lot of women no longer get thrush. Less sweaty, the fabrics we use don’t sweat like plastic disposables do they are more breathable. The is a huge range of styles and shapes to choose from and best of all a funky range of colours and fabrics to pick from.
Q. HOW MANY WILL I NEED?
A. This depends on if you wish to wash everyday or every other day. A good indication is to work out how many disposable pads you use each day. For example if you use 5 a day and choose to wash everyday then 10 cloth pads is a good number to start with
Q. ARE THEY BULKY?
A. No not at all, we make Eco Moon pads with trim absorbent fabrics, in fact most women are surprised at how trim our cloth pads are. Our light flow pads are approx 2mm thick, medium flow pads are approx 3-4mm thick our heavy flow pads are approx 5-6mm thick
Q. DO THEY LEAK?
A. If changed regularly and you use the right absorbency pad to suit your flow then you shouldn’t experience leaks
Q. ARE THEY COMFORTABLE?
A. Yes definitely, they don’t bunch up like disposable pads can or irritate. We have a range of styles and sizes so you can choose or trial different pads to find which suit you best
Q. HOW OFTEN DO YOU CHANGE THEM?
A. Change as often as you would a disposable, most women actually find cloth pads more absorbent and change less often than I would a disposable pad
Q. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH CLOTH PADS WHEN OUT?
A. We have waterproof purses available in 2 sizes which you can put your clean and used pads into until you get home
Q. DO THEY SMELL?
A. If changed as often as needed then you shouldn’t experience smells, if left unchanged for to long then yes you may. If your pads or your period underwear have an odour after washing we recommend adding 1/2 cup white vinegar to the washing cycle to remove any lingering odours and drying outside in sunlight. Sunlight/UV light sterilises and deodorises cottons.
Q. WHAT ARE THEY MADE OF?
A. Eco Moon pads are made of good quality cotton flannel, quilting fabrics or bamboo fabric. The inner is bamboo or hemp terry. Hemp is a very absorbent fabric which has 4 times the absorption of cotton and makes for a very trim absorbent pad. Hemp also has less impact on the environment and has anti bacterial and anti fungal properties. The bottom layer is a water proof layer of PUL (polyurethane laminate) this is what most cloth nappies and covers are made of.
Q. WHY ARE ECOMOON PADS CHEAPER THAN OTHER CLOTH PADS?
A. Simply because we want to make it affordable for customers to make the switch to cloth pads. When we started out we could not justify charging higher prices. Now that we have built a good reputation and good quality products over the last 6 years we feel it would be unfair to our customers to raise our prices. You will find some pads the same style are more expensive than others we stock but some fabrics we use are more expensive. The cheaper priced pads still work just as well and are just as good quality as our more expensive pads they are just priced accordingly to the fabrics used. We can assure you that our affordable prices do not reflect poor quality products.
Q. DO YOU MAKE CUSTOM ORDERS
A. Yes we are more than happy to make orders to suit your needs in any size or colour fabrics available. How ever we are very busy so custom orders can take upto 3-4weeks depending on other orders i have
WASH AND CARE INFORMATION
Your mama cloth are very simple to wash and care for. Simply rinse or put straight into a container with cold water then when you want to wash drain and put into the machine. Cold washing is recommended, to protect the PUL same as cloth nappies. You can put them in with cloth nappies or any laundry. We don’t recommend using fabric softeners as this can hinder the absorbency and don’t use bleaches as this will shorten the life span of your pads.
We have been trailing our soapnuts for some time now with washing the pads (and nappies) and have had fantastic results. Highly recommend the soapnuts for a natural washing alternative for your pads.
Adding salt or baking soda to the water or a oxygen whitener will help with stains or the sun is fantastic at fading stains. UV light also sterilises your cloth pads (as it does Cloth Nappies!). Some fabrics may stain, it does happen sometimes!! If stains will bother you then I recommend buying patterned or hand dyed pads so they are less noticeable. I am yet to have any of my pads I use stain. Pads can be put in the dryer but this can shorten the life span of the pads. I would only recommend drying on a cool to medium cycle if you use the dryer.
A few drops of tea tree oil can be added to a wash cycle to help sanatize your pads. If you suffer a bout of thrush we recommend also washing your pads in canasten to ensure you do not re infect your self next time you use your pads.
Washing your pads on a hot cycle may result in shrinkage of the cotton topper, or the hemp/bamboo inner. It will also shorten the life span of your PUL. If you chose to wash on hot, ironing after washing can also help to remove any wrinkles. We do not cover any damage to pads from hot washing, hot ironing or hot dryer use.
If you are concerned about sterilising your pads, we recommend using a sterilising washing additive available from chemists or supermarkets.