This post is dedicated for all people who are wondering about cloth menspads and anything about it.I do this because I realize that many people are still unfamiliar about cloth menspads,or those who are in"fear"of using it(leakage,treatment,where to buy,etc). I'll write this in both english and Indonesian language,so that my Indonesian reader who isn't fully fluent in english will understand it. I'll make an extra button later to link it with this page so that this post will be useful for those who want info about it.

I have posted twice about cloth menspads and why I have to use it.Actually it's complete posts and I have answered all questions about cloth menspads that people have been asked.But guess people need something as a summary .So here I'll summarize all 101 about cloth menspads that you can use as a cloth menspad guidance,or anything you'd like to name it.So here they are:

1.Is it as comfortable as disposable menspads?

I'll say,yes it is.But then the answer goes back to what brands that you choose.Each brands have different materials, layers,and design.And they have different size as well,just like disposable menspads.

2.How to wash our cloth menspads?

I'll copy from my prev.answer for my dear blogger fren Vivi:

About the detergent,on its packaging washing instruction it said that we should use liquid detergent with non chlorine(which means those without withening agent),and non softening(since softening agent will make a layer on fabric that prevent from blood absorption). Liquid detergent is better since leave no powder residue(some people iritated by that residue,also..it's not a good idea to have detergent powder residue on our feminine area:/). True,some detergent powders leave residue.I have laundry liquid detergent,however what I use is baby dishwasher liquid soap.It works:D..However,I found that there's a brand here that doesn't suggest using liquid soap(it's the 1st time I heard it since almost all of brands that I know suggesting to use liquid soap instead).If you have hard stain,you can use baking soda,soak it for a while then wash it with liquid detergent.Don't use hot water since hot water can coagulate blood.Use warm water,only after you've dismissed all stain on your menspads.Some brands don't suggest using dryer,some others just fine.See..depends on the brand that you choose as..again,they all have different materials each other.Dry it on sunlight is the best since sunlight will remove the stain and sterilize your menspads(remember,UV rays is used to sterilize medical stuffs.They create tools to mimic our uv rays on the sky above!).

3.Are you sure that disposable pads release dioxin so that I need to change to non disposable one?

Oh well,are you sure that inside your current body now,especially on your reproduction area,there's nothing wrong like cysts,tumor,or cancer there?How many of you doing regular abdominal complete check up?Me?..see my prev.post(here).Prevention is always better than medication.It cost less.Starting an investment in our health is never been a bad idea.And that dioxin?let's see the pic below:

This is one of my books.And yes,I'm a big fan of classical chinese history though I'm not of chinese origins at all.The book here was printed in 2008.Basically it's a series of books about chinese culture.I 1st time collected it back then in 1997.This series is printed over and over by the publisher,and look what is the current book of the series now(see the print date):

The paper!It was bright white back then untill 2009,and now it's...err..an recycled ecofriendly version maybe?:/ I know it because I have complete collection of it in various date of printing:

Now take a look at your disposable pads and..see the color.You have your own answer your self. My answer is:I'd like having my book that bright white since it's mould resistance(see pic below,another book of mine which used the recycled ecofriendly version-harvesting some moulds),and the writing can be read better in brighter color.Rather than having my disposable pads in bright white!!

4.But you didn't mention anything about dioxin and I'm not convinced yet!

Oh please,I don't have to convince anyone!..:D It's (y)our own health!Just google about dioxin in tampon and sanitary pads,it's all over the net!In case you haven't found it,see my pics above and make your own logic conclusion.If you're not into your own health at all...well..erac dluohs I yhw!:D
Oh,btw this is the pic that I found on the net back then:

5.I live in west,we use tampon instead of menstrual pads.What is the best substitution then?

First of all,I support anything that isn't disposable,less garbage.This post is about cloth menstrual pads since most of women here(if not almost all,i believe,though there's no exact data about it)use pads instead of tampon.Tampon is not popular here.Maybe(this is still questionable)because women are affraid that tampon can rupture the hymen(though i know that length of tampons vary) .Virginity is,however,still a part of important social-religious related issue in some of our societies here. I'm not saying that we all are virgins here,hahaa XD..,but that's something more that is linked to social-cultural here.Because not many demand of it,so it's rare in availability.Also,maybe women here questioning about the hygiene of tampon alike stuffs.Basically,the idea of put foreign object into their private area,well..it's much easier to use the pads for women here.However,I know that there's this diva cup available there since couple of years ago.It's a good substitute for tampon.Still,both tampon and disposable menspads are made of either pulp/paper orcotton.So,they have the same issue regarding safety.Other brands than diva cup are:lunette,or mooncup(UK).

6.How to bring wet cloth menspads when we're on the go(not at home)?

So,this is my product review on this post.You can use this:wetbag.Actually,wetbag was made for carrying wet cloth baby diapers(yes,the disposable diapers health effect has made

concern among parents and that's why this cloth diaper was made for.See this link).You can use wetbag for cloth

baby diapers,or those wetbag for cloth menspads.Non only to carry wet pads products,you can carry anything that is wet without the fear of it getting leaked such:swimwear,wet towels,etc.What I bought are these:

Planetwise wetbag

They actually make the cloth menspads wetbag,but I bought this because I want a size that can fits for at least 3 cloth menspads(for traveling purpose).The materials of that wetbag are these:

I also have these:

Momiji wetbag:

It's like 2 pouches that is connected into one pouch.The function is to separate clean menspads and dirty one.It has a pocket on the outside as well.

And this another pouch for menspads:

This one is supposed to be for disposable pads pouch.No waterproof layer in it at all.I think I'll use it for cloth pantyliner that I'm planning to buy next.

7.How long I can keep using this cloth menspads untill it's getting leaked and throw the pad?

I'll say,vary.Depends on the material of cloth menspads that you buy and how you treat it.Majority of indonesian brands using microfibre as absorber,andas we know microfibre has the super ability to absorb liquid fastest.The downside is that it needs extra treatment than other regular fabrics.For products with microfibreas absorber,on the packaging it said it will work well under normal usage for about 3-5 years.Read my point above about how to wash it.However,other brands using different absorbers.Some brands use cotton or hemp as absorbers.As for that,I'll say that it can work well as long as the fabric is still good,not ripped.Just like our cotton clothes!Then will come the question,what makes it different than using foldable cotton cloth like what women in the past used it?It's different,1st cloth menspads has layers which are made of different materials(some use polyester waterproof as outer layer material),2nd it's designed to mimic disposable menspads(with wings on it) which fits to our body contour.

8.Where to buy it?

If you live in US,there're several brands that I know.Click link here on each brands:

1.Fuzzi Buns

2.Happy Heinys

3.Pink Daisy 

4.Charlie Banana 

5.Lunapads 

6.Mommy's touch 

Or you can buy some on retail webstores here(in case you want to buy US products):

http://mamaclothonline.com

http://www.sckoon.com

http://www.diaperware.com

There're alot in etsy,you can try it there aswell.If you live in EU,I'm sure there're brands from EU,but I don't know for sure since what has been sold here in Indonesia are Indonesian brands,US brands,or those from china & korea. If you want to try Indonesian brands,you can click on the link I provided below on my Indonesian language post and contact the sellers maybe?:)

Any question that hasn't been covered?I'll be gladly answer it and..add it to the post above.Thanks for reading.Have a good day!:)

Bahasa Indonesia:

Wah,ini post pertamaku pake bahasa Indonesia nih ternyata.Kalo ada yg nanya kenapa ngga nulis pake bahasa indo aja,ya karena rata2 org indo bisa bahasa inggris dan rata2 org diluar indo belum ngerti bhs indo,jadinya yah posting pake bahasa yg dimengerti kita semua sajalah^^.

Ok,jadi ini yg sering ditanyakan orang2 ttg cloth menspads alias pembalut wanita/mens kain.

1.Apa itu pembalut kain?

Pembalut untuk mens kita yg terbuat dari kain.Jadi,dia bisa dipake terus sampe..tidak bisa dipake lagi tentunya:D.

2.Kenapa ga make pembalut yg sekali pake aja?

Pertama,dari segi kesehatan dipertanyakan.Sudah aku bahas di postingan2ku sebelumnya di sini dan sini.Intinya,pembalut sekali pakai bahannya menggunakan:kertas atau kapas.Yg dari kertas biasanya harganya lebih murah daripada kapas.Masalahnya,kita ngga tau itu warna putih di pembalut kita hasil dari proses bleaching/pemutihan atau ngga.Selain itu,jika itu dari kertas,kertas yg dipake adlh kertas baru atau kertas daur ulang?? Ada lagi,kalo misal pembalut yg kita pake tipis,biasanya darah akan diubah menjadi bentuk gel.Nha,gel ini didapat dr pembalut yg ditambahi sodium polyacrylate(bubuk yg menyerap cairan 500-100x berat bubuk itu sendiri jika terkena cairan).Hal2 tersebut diatas sudah menjadi keprihatinan di amerika,terutama untuk produk popok sekali pakai mengingat itu untuk bayi2 yg masih sangat rentan.

Kedua,dari segi keuangan itu merupakan buang2 duit banget! Coba kita hitung berapa rupiah yang sudah dibuang setiap bulannya untuk barang sekali pakai dan berakhir ditempat sampah dalam hitungan jam ini:

Menurut sensus 2011,jumlah wanita di indonesia ada 127.700.802 jiwa.Dari jumlah itu 39.800.000 merupakan wanita di usia subur(artinya plg ngga masih menstruasi).Kalau satu buah pembalut wanita sekali pakai harganya Rp.300,maka dalam sebulan wanita di negara kita ini sudah "membuang"uang dalam sekejap sebesar:

39,800,000 x 3(sehari ganti 3x ) x 7(rata2 jumlah hari haid dlm sebulan)xRp.300 =Rp.250.740.000.000. 

Wow..Rp.250 M ada di tempat sampah kita tiap bulannya!Dan itu sayangnya bukan duit yg ada disana,tetapi sampah yg tragisnya sebelum jadi sampah senilai itu dan berakhir di tempat sampah dalam beberapa jam saja.Hitungan itu mungkin lebih murah dari nilai sebenarnya krn dipasaran banyak sekali pembalut2 yg lebih mahal,per biji ada yg Rp.3000.Bisa jadi,totalnya bisa menebus angka Rp.1 triliun.Menurutku,uang segitu jauh lebih bermanfaat untuk digunakan hal2 lain ketimbang cuma buat nampung darah mens aja -__-..

Ketiga,itu nyampah banget!Uda gitu sampahnya ada yg susah buat diurai krn beberapa pembalut sekali pakai menggunakan plastik sbg lapisan luarnya.Dan,kasian banget orang2 yg kerja di TPS/mengolah sampah kita itu.Coba,apa ada diantara kita yg mau ngubek2 bekas pembalut wanita sekali pakai yg udah ditumpuk sebagai sampah selama 2 bulan aja deh.Apa ada yg mau? Aku pribadi ngga mau,jijay aja.Padahal sudah rahasia umum kalau org2 itu digaji sangat rendah dengan resiko pekerjaan yg sangat tinggi. Mungkin aku ngga bisa membantu gaji mereka,tapi..inilah yg bisa aku lakukan buat membantu org2 itu dan buat lingkunganku.Dengan bertanggung jawab mengurusi darah mensku sendiri dengan memakai pembalut kain.

3.Apa ini ga tembus?

Aku tergolong heavy flow,dan ini ngga tembus sampe 8 jam ga ganti.Karena dia terdiri dari lapisan2.Kalo merk indo biasanya pake microfibre sbg bahan penyerapnya.Merk luar macem2 bahan penyerapnya.

4.Kalo bahan lapis2 gitu berarti ganjel dong?

Ya sama aja kaya yg sekali pake,ada yg ganjel krn tebel juga kan?Kalo kamu beli yg maxi,pasti tebel dia.Kalo sampe dia ngga tebel,berarti dia bakalan pake bahan yg mengubah darah jadi gel(liat poin no.2 diatas).Nha,bahan itu efeknya gimana di kesehatan kita?Pembalut kain ada macem2 ukurannya,kaya pembalut sekali pakai juga.Ada yg nightnya juga.Bahannya juga macem2,tergantung merknya.Aku bisa bilang gini krn uda nyoba berbagai merk baik buatan indo maupun luar,ya walo belom semua merk sih.Plg ga uda ada 8 merk yg aku coba.

5.Terus cara nyucinya gimana?

Tiap2 merk beda cara nyucinya,krn beda bahannya.Dan itu sudah mereka sertakan di pembungkus pembalut kainnya.Jadi ga usa khawatir^^.Bisa si aku ketik satu2..tapi teler aja ngetiknya euy @_@..Dah,beli aja..ada dipembungkusnya kok cara cucinya^^.

6.Ni bisa dipake sampe kapan?

Tergantung bahannya.Kalo yg microfibre ditulisan packagingnya bisa tetep ga tembus di pemakaian normal antara 3-5 tahun.Kalo yg cotton, yaa..kataku sih selama kain itu ada dan ok2 aja buat dipake.Kan baju2 kita dari cotton tu tahan lama kan?

7.Loh,kalo gitu berarti ini sama aja kaya kaen yg dilipet yg dipake mama ato oma2 kita dulu(alias duk ya namanya kalo ga salah)?

Ya beda dong!walo sama2 dari cotton,tapi ini kan desainnya dibuat sedemikian rupa supaya ga geser2 pas dipake dan nyaman pas dipake.Dia desainnya sama kaya pembalut sekali pakai,ada wing dan kancingnya juga.Uda gitu,beberapa merk pake bahan polyester yg tahan air sebagai lapisan plg luarnya.Plis,jangan disamain ya..

8.Belinya dimana sih?

Ini yg merk2 indo:

BabyOz

Cluebebe

GG

ZiggieZag

Ananndapads

Green Nappy

*lainnya belom tau.Ada kali,cuma blm tau aja,hehee

Bisa klik link2 itu ke web masing2.Ato nyari di OS2 yg jual beberapa merk sekaligus kaya OS2 ini:

http://www.clodimurah.com
http://www.tokobundahafidh.com/product.php?category=24&page_number=1
http://www.clothdiapersmurah.com/category/produk/menstrual-pad/
http://www.rajaclodi.com
http://www.kiosclodi.com/category/mans-pad/
http://momselect.multiply.com/
http://www.bundaghaziclodi.com
http://www.bunacacha.com
http://www.mamabebeshop.com
http://www.bayitembem.com
http://www.savinashop.com
http://www.mahiraclothdiaper.com
http://griyaclodi.com
http://www.humayroh.com
http://clodiceria.com/
http://www.clodaclodi.com/49-menstrual-pad-.html
http://www.geraipopokkain.com/product.php?category=6
http://kylaclodi.com
http://www.hagyababyshop.com/product.php?category=11
http://www.rumahbundaraha.com/search/label/Pembalut%20Kain

yg laen tinggal googling aja,byk bgt yg jual mulai dari FB,Kaskus,sampe multiply:) Yg jual offline alias toko...hmm...cari aja di toko2 perlengkapan bayi.Biasanya yg jual baby cloth diapers/popok kain buat bayi juga jual itu.Met hunting yaa ^^

9.Harganya berapaan?

Yg buatan indo rata2 30rb an.Buatan luar 80-150rb lebih.Tergantung merk.Sejauh ini,faveku buatan indo.Liat postku di(sini).

10.Kok mahal ya?

Lah,ini kan bisa dipake berkali2 sampe rusak dia.Kalo uda rusak pun kalo mau masi bisa dimanfaatkan buat apa gitu,kan dia dari kain.Yg sekali pake mlh lbh mahal lagi,keluar duit banyak cuma buat dibuang dalam itungan jam.Dan manfaatnya dr segi kesehatan?dipertanyakan...
Bisa sih kalo mau jahit sendiri,cuma keahlian jahit menjahitku sangat dipertanyakan,heheee.. Dan kalo pesen ke penjahit,malah jatuhnya lebih mahal pula!

11.Terus bawa ini dalam tas pas kita mo ganti ama yg baru pake apa dong?kan ini basah tar..
Ada ini ni yg namanya:wetbag. Kalo seperti di reviewku diatas,wet bag yg aku review ada 2 merk:planet wise sama momji. Planet wise merk US,sedangkan momiji merk jepang. Keduanya jelas lebih mahal drpd merk indo.Sebetulnya,keduanya aku beli justru setelah aku beli wet bag merk indo yg ini,namanya Anya wet bag.Penampakannya:


isi di dalemnya:

16.Gimana ya..ini kan brg belum umum buat dijemur..

Bra dulu juga blm umum buat dijemur,toh lama2 jadi umum juga setelah byk yg pake.Makanya make,biar diumumin,hehehe..

Wadoh..pegel juga ngetik segini banyaknya.Yah..semoga bermanfaat buat yg memerlukan info.Ada yg mau ditanyakan?silahkan..Have a nice day!:)