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As you may know from last months post, my goal was to use washable breastpads instead of disposable ones. You can read the full post here. This was because I had worked hard for months to reduce the amount of general waste that my household produces by recycling and adapting my buying habits. I had found that my bin was now filling up with disposable breastpads, especially as at the time I was getting through up to 3 pairs a day and sometimes 2 pairs at night. This was adding up in terms of rubbish AND in money.
I wanted something that would save me money in the long run, have less storage space than a HUGE box and not have to be thrown away after one use.
That’s when I found washable breastpads in Boots.
I bought a total of 3 boxes of washable breastpads from Boots. This gave me 9 pairs. I found that there were many pros to using washable breastpads.
Boots Washable and Reusable Breastpads. £5.49 for 3 Pairs
(Price correct at time of writing)
Pros of Washable Breastpads
- Reduced amount of rubbish each week.
- Saved quite a lot of money over the month
- Had less environmental impact than disposable ones
- Washable breastpads are softer on your nipples if they are dry or cracked
- Less storage space
- Easier to remove from your nursing bra when nursing
- You don’t get that crinkly sound from washable breastpads
- Washable ones are thicker, so they give your clothes a smoother finish
- They are contoured without that annoying pointy bit.
Cons of Washable Breastpads
They have no way of securing them to your bra. So they can move as you go about your daily business, however, the backing fabric does cling to most fabrics so movement is minimal.
If you use softener in your washing, it makes them less absorbent
I didn’t find them suitable for night use because they moved about too much and Millie has just started going longer between feeds, so I have quite a lot of milk leaking at the moment. (I did try a couple of nights).
If you have a lot of milk, you may have to change them more regularly.
Summary
In summary, I think that Boots washable breastpads are good to buy. Price-wise you will pay roughly the same for 60 disposable breastpads, except this is a recurring cost approximately every week. So in the long run, you are going to save yourself about £18-£25 p/m. If you’re like me and still need to use them at night to prevent a milky mess, then you are still reducing your consumption by a fifth a month. That’s a huge improvement on the amount of waste your throwing into landfill each month. There may be more absorbent washable breastpads out there, however, I have not tried any so I can’t really comment or recommend them. I didn’t find that they moved to much during the day and my clothes appeared a lot smoother when using them because they are slightly bulkier.
The box includes washing instructions and a handy netted bad with a toggle to keep it closed in the washing machine. I wouldn’t recommend tumble drying them as they dry very quickly on the radiator. Another thing I would also recommend that you put them in a wash that you don’t use softener in so that they keep their maximum absorbency.
I know that I am definitely going to carry on using the washable breastpads from Boots because I also like that as long as you wash them regularly, you are never caught out with running out of breastpads when you really need them or have a huge box to store (along with all the other reasons I said above obviously!). Don’t forget as well, that if you buy them from boots to use your boots card! you will get points on them.
Have you tried another brand? What do you think of washable breastpads?