How to Get Smell Out of Reusable Pads (Step by Step)

Reading time about 8 minutes · Updated for 2026

Here is the honest truth about reusable pad odor. It is almost never the pad. It is a process error. Something went sideways in your wash routine. Maybe you skipped the cold rinse. Maybe pads sat in a wet bag for three days. Maybe fabric softener built up a waxy layer you cannot see.

The fix is usually one small change.

This guide walks you through exactly how to get smell out of reusable pads, step by step, with specific ratios and times. No guesswork. No conflicting advice. No buying special products you do not need.

Why your reusable pads smell (it is not the pad)

How menstrual pad odor actually develops

Fresh menstrual blood is nearly odorless. So is urine, right when it leaves the body.

The smell you are noticing happens after. Bacteria feed on organic material in warm, moist fabric. They colonize the tiny gaps between fibers and form a biofilm, a stubborn invisible layer that traps odor even through wash cycles.

That is the whole mechanism. Warmth plus moisture plus time equals bacteria, which equals smell.

Why cloth pads smell different from disposables

Disposable menstrual pads hide this with fragrance chemicals and absorbent gels. They do not solve it, they mask it. Cloth pads do not hide anything, which feels like a disadvantage at first.

It is actually the opposite. That breathability is one of the real reasons so many women switch away from disposables.

You can fix the root cause instead of covering it up. The smell is not a sign your pad is broken. It is a signal that one step in your care routine needs adjusting. Once you identify which step, the fix is usually fast, and permanent.

Diagnose your smell first

Four types of reusable pad odor

Not all pad odor is the same. Different smells point to different causes and different fixes. Before you try anything, figure out which one you are dealing with.

• Metallic or iron smell. Normal fresh blood. Not a problem. Rinse promptly after use and it fades on its own. No treatment needed.
• Musty or mildew smell. Your pads sat wet too long, or you over-soaked them. The fix is adjusting storage and cutting soak time. See Step 2 below.
• Ammonia smell. Urine buildup, most common with incontinence pads. This needs a targeted baking soda protocol. Skip ahead to the incontinence section if this is you.
• Barnyard or funky smell. Bacterial residue from incomplete washing. Your pads need stripping to break through the biofilm.

Knowing which smell you have saves you from trying fixes that will not work. A musty smell will not respond to ammonia treatment. An ammonia problem will not budge with a simple re-wash.

Step 1: rinse in cold water immediately

This single habit prevents more odor problems than every other step combined.

Rinse your pad under cold running water for about 30 seconds right after removing it. Squeeze and release a few times until the water runs mostly clear.

Cold water is non-negotiable here. Hot water denatures blood proteins, the same reaction that turns a raw egg white opaque. Once those proteins bind to fabric at high temperature, they are set. Permanently. That locked-in residue becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. Keep it at or below 30 degrees C. Our full wash and care guide has the routine in one place.

There is a popular method in the reusable pad community: the shower stomp. Toss your used pad on the shower floor while you are already in there. Rinse it underfoot with cold water. No extra effort. No mess. Done before bacteria even get started.

If you cannot rinse right away, dry-pail the pad in a breathable wet bag. Do not leave it balled up in a sealed pocket.

Step 2: soak with baking soda or vinegar

There is conflicting advice on every forum about soak times and ingredients. Here is what actually works.

The number that matters: 30 minutes is the maximum effective cold soak for general odor. Beyond 6 hours in standing water, you are actually creating the musty mildew smell you are trying to fix. Stagnant water breeds the exact bacteria you are fighting.

Vinegar works best as a wash additive, not a pre-soak. Pour it into the fabric softener compartment so it hits during the rinse cycle. And do not combine vinegar and baking soda in the same soak, they neutralize each other. You end up with salty water that does nothing.

For ammonia specifically, baking soda breaks down uric acid at a chemical level. That is why the overnight soak is the one exception to the keep-it-short rule. It is not just deodorizing, it is neutralizing the source compound.

Step 3: wash at the right temperature

Temperature and detergent depend on what you are washing. That is it.

• Period pads and liners: 30 degrees C. Your regular detergent. Nothing special. A standard cycle with a good spin is enough.
• Incontinence pads, or anything with an ammonia smell: 40 degrees C with a bio (enzyme-based) detergent. The enzymes target protein-based residue that regular detergent misses.

Two things to avoid in every wash:

• Never use fabric softener. It coats fibers with a waxy residue that reduces absorbency by up to 40 percent. Worse, that coating traps bacteria inside the fibers where your wash cannot reach them. This is one of the most common hidden causes of persistent odor.
• Skip hydrogen peroxide and oxygen brighteners. They can degrade fabric over time without adding meaningful cleaning benefit.

Run an extra rinse cycle if your machine has the option. Detergent residue left in the pad attracts bacteria between uses. For the complete routine, see how to wash reusable pads.

Step 4: dry in sunlight (for stubborn smells only)

UV light kills odor-causing bacteria and lifts stains naturally. After washing, lay your pads flat in direct sunlight for 90 minutes or more.

But here is what most guides leave out.

Think of it as a targeted remedy, not a daily habit. A pad that still smells after a proper wash, that is when a few hours of direct sun earns its place. Not before.

Getting ammonia smell out of incontinence pads

Ammonia odor is a different problem from period pad smell. The chemistry is distinct. Urea in urine converts to ammonia through a bacterial process that speeds up in warm, moist conditions. It is a chemical reaction, not just bacterial growth.

The protocol that works:

• Rinse immediately after use. Even a quick cold rinse cuts ammonia development by removing urea before conversion starts.
• Soak in baking soda solution. Two tablespoons per basin of cold water, up to overnight. Baking soda breaks down uric acid directly, not just masking, neutralizing.
• Wash at 40 degrees C with bio detergent. Enzyme formulas target the protein chains standard detergent leaves behind.
• Check your water hardness. Hard water mineral deposits accumulate in fibers and trap odor. They also reduce detergent effectiveness, so you get less cleaning power per wash. Add a water softener like Calgon, or run a periodic stripping cycle to clear mineral buildup.

Hard water is the hidden culprit behind a surprising number of pads-that-will-not-stop-smelling complaints. The cloth diaper community documented this pattern years ago, and the same fabric chemistry applies.

When the smell will not go away: the nuclear option

Stripping and deep-cleaning your menstrual pads

You have rinsed. Soaked. Washed correctly. Still smells.

Time to escalate, but work through these in order. Do not skip to stripping if a simple re-wash might fix it.

• Re-wash with an extra rinse cycle. Sometimes detergent residue is the entire problem. A second wash with an extra rinse clears it.
• Baking soda soak plus machine wash, repeated. Full 30-minute baking soda soak, then a standard machine wash. Repeat once if needed.
• Full stripping protocol. Borrowed from the cloth diaper community, same chemistry. Mix 1 teaspoon each of borax, washing soda, and Calgon per gallon of hot water. Submerge pads and soak 3 to 4 hours. The water will likely turn murky. That is months of trapped residue releasing.
• Dawn dish soap strip. Original blue Dawn, a few drops rubbed directly into the absorbent core. Cuts through waxy buildup from fabric softener or detergent residue. Rinse thoroughly.
• When to retire the pad. If odor persists through two full stripping attempts, the pad has reached end of life. With proper care, quality pads last 5+ years. No shame in replacing one that has done its job.

What not to do

These mistakes either cause odor or make it worse:

• Fabric softener. Coats fibers, traps bacteria, kills absorbency. The number one hidden cause of pad odor.
• Hot water on blood stains. Locks proteins into the fabric permanently. Always start cold.
• Soaking longer than 6 hours. Creates the musty smell you are trying to fix. Stagnant water is a bacteria factory.
• Chlorine bleach on the waterproof backing. Breaks down the waterproof layer over time without solving the odor, and that backing is not replaceable.
• Sealed storage with no airflow. Wet pads in an airtight container is a guaranteed mildew situation. Use a breathable wet bag.
• Skipping the cold rinse. The single biggest cause of persistent odor. Thirty seconds of cold water after each use prevents most smell problems entirely.

You have got this

Most reusable pad odor traces back to one fixable process error. Not a broken pad. Not a design flaw. A process error.

The routine is simple: rinse cold right after use, soak briefly with baking soda if needed, wash at the right temperature, dry properly. For stubborn cases, stripping works.

New to cloth pads? Start with our guide on how to use reusable cloth pads, or browse the full range of pads, liners, and sets.

Topsy Daisy pads and liners are built to last years of use, and with the right care routine they smell fresh every wash day. That is not a pitch. That is what knowing how to get smell out of reusable pads actually gives you. A pad that works, wash after wash.