BecPeriod-having peeps, how do you deep clean your period underwear? We've a few different brands and we obviously rinse them out and wash them as soon as we take them off but they don't smell as clean as I would like. Online advice seems to advocate bleach or hydrogen peroxide which seems like it would have a negative impact on the materials. I've seen one suggestion for baking soda, borax and laundry powder which sounds more friendly but am open to other suggestions
secretsloth@teadrinker hydrogen peroxide works great in my experience, I don't have period underwear, just the normal kind, but a) leaks and b) sister had nosebleeds in childhood. Blood got all over her favorite blanket, hydrogen peroxide was used every time for years and she still has it. You could always mark one pair as a trial pair. What I do with mine is, h2o2, let foam, rinse, add more, repeat. Best way to really get all the bloodstains (and probably smell?) out.
@secretsloth I reckon I can probably get some from the pharmacy... will give it a go. I'm not so worried about the stains as I am about the smell (which, to be fair, is not super offensive, but I can smell it, yk) but as you say, if the stain is removed, the smell should hopefully go too!
@teadrinker yeah I would think so. I have heard baking soda is good for removing smells in upholstery? You could try that too, but baking soda changes pH and I have no idea how it might react with other detergent type things. But it might be something to look at. The H2O2 as far as I know reacts with something in the blood and then the foam "scrubs" the area? It also acts as bleach, but the foaming is really impressive. Also very good for cuts and scrapes.
@secretsloth I've definitely used baking soda to absorb smells before, and I've heard about H2O2 for cuts and scrapes. When I was young we never had it, instead the first aid kit at school had a bottle of mercurochrome which was used on grazed knees, etc. That got me thinking: I've not seen that for years, I wonder why? And it turns out that most people don't use it now because they're worried about mercury poisoning, ho hum 😅
@teadrinker huh 🤔 we always use it, the bubble is a lot less unpleasant than the burn of alcohol. And it's REALLY effective for things like dog scratches where it's oddly shaped and neosporin may or may not get full coverage (our puppy is about a year, the clawwwwws 🤣) it does bleach some fabrics, but I am not vain about (ahem) my Granny panties lol. Wonder what that mercury thing is about. Never heard of it before. 💀
@secretsloth Oh, gosh, I hear you on the dog scratches. Puppy excitement is hard to contain!
The mercurochrome was super popular here (ie rural Western Australia) until at least the late 80s. Most people I know had it in the first aid kit. Interestingly, my mum never bought it, so I wonder if she'd heard something and didn't trust it. She was a bit ahead of her time when it came to health stuff, bless her
@teadrinker ohhhhhhhhhh. That's fascinating! Ha, my mom told me about breaking open mercury thermometers and playing with the liquid mercury as a kid, which might explain a few things about her 🫠but she didn't ever use peroxide on our skin or anything, just laundry, maybe that's why? I would love to know what ends up working for you though, because I'm sure it would be useful knowledge for other types of odor removal as well, in case it ever comes up.
@secretsloth Oh, geez, the thought of playing with mercury, haha! I'm glad we know better now!
I'll update with the results – I might try different things on different underwear and see what works best