There are many ways to care for your cloth pads.
Some women prefer to rinse them out and pop them into the wash with a load right away.
I prefer to rinse it out and soak it in a bucket of cold water with a little vinegar. I keep a plastic container with a lid under my sink. The vinegar will help to prevent staining and odor.
I only let them soak for a day or two, but some people wait to wash until the end of their period. The longer they sit, the more likely they are to stain.
You can wash the pads in your washer or by hand. Since my pads are 100% cotton flannel, they are completely machine washable. Just use your normal washing detergent or add a little baking soda to help remove stains naturally. Do not use fabric softener as it will make your pads less absorbent.
To remove stains, you can take your wet pad (rinsed until no more blood comes out) and sprinkle the baking soda on the stains. Rub it with your finger (or rub the pad against itself), and then rinse the Baking Soda off and hopefully the stain will simply disappear. I find this is very effective.
Air dry or machine dry on low setting.
Hanging your pads out in the sunlight can help fade any stains as well.
