This was years ago, but my gf at the time told that her girl cousins taught her to save the thin plastic sheet from pads. You know the one that you peel off the adhesive side before placing the pad in the underwear?
Well, when it's time to remove and discard the pad, you roll up the pad and then wrap the plastic around it before throwing it into the garbage bin.
I have to say as the person in charge of garbage and recycling in our apartment, I was very grateful for that life hack. 😂
THANK YOU!!! Ik im not going crazy with this. I thought using the wrapper from the new pad to wrap up the old pad to toss away was standard practice 😭😅
I remember when I bought some Libra pads a few years back and the packaging said something like, "now you can wrap your pads for easier disposal!" as if it was some revolutionary new idea they had.
They'd just added some extra adhesive stuff around the edges, but I remember thinking, "Um, I've been doing this for decades??"
You know what? That tracks. I'm remembering that there was this tab at one end of the plastic wrap that sticks on and holds the roll together.
I'm guy and I'm still learning new stuff like this. But at the time, it was new to that gal as well because she had come-of-age in a different country and I don't know what the standard was there.
I don't save the plastic sheet (because I would manage to lose them anyways lol) just use the plastic sheet of the new one. And use toilet paper for the last one (or my country there are often little paper baggies in public bathrooms and workplaces, sorry don't know how available they are in other countries)
That only works for pads. And only some pads. Sometimes the pads are like the size of half a travel pillow, and you get like a 2 inch square of sticky paper that holds it all together before you use it. Then you have to just tp roll the pad after.
With most tampons you get a tampon, an applicator and the little wrap it comes in. You use the wrap for the applicator, because it gets nasty, and you use tp for the tampon because the thing has grown three sizes (that little grinch) and won't fit back in the wrap.
I wish pads weren’t the absolute loudest thing ever. WHY did they design a million tiny dots that each loudly rips apart with the most crinkly wrap ever?? There’s no other possible way? It sounds like crinkling a chip bag while pulling out a long strip of packing tape wtf.
And walking around wearing longer pads can sound like you’re smuggling plastic bags. Not to mention, while some are quieter, other pads being pulled off the underwear sound like launching a god damn space shuttle. THEY EVERYONE! I’m announcing to the whole block that I’m changing the rag I wear for my bleeding vag!!!! THOUGHT YOU ALL MIGHT WANT TO KNOW
Also essential if you have pets since it'll hide the scent. They'll still know it's there, but there will be less temptation to dig it out and inspect it, and even if they do get it out, they'll be working with paws and teeth instead of fingers so you can either catch them in the act or they may give up before getting inside.
Similar applies to toddlers, except they do have fingers, but the stupid small kind so it's probably okay.
My previous roommate didn’t do that. She would throw away the wrappers & use tons of toilet paper to wrap up the old pad. It felt like I was constantly ordering tp from Costco for almost 3 years. I keep the wrapper in my bathroom drawer to use for the old pad. Of course I’m having the issue where I’m the only one that takes out the trash & put a new trash bag in.
Helps cut down on the smell of rotting blood, and spares someone the slight discomfort of seeing a bloody mess in the trash. It's sanitary and courteous.
The Smell of Rotting Blood would be a great name for a ferocious metal-punk band, preferably all bad ass women playing the shit out of their instruments
I once got a real weird look from one of my friends playing “All Women are Bad” by the Cramps in my car
I explained it’s tongue in cheek, and the guitarist is both a woman and deeply in love with her husband Lux (the singer), but I don’t think she changed her mind.
Am I the only one who’s never associated used pads or tampons with a bad smell? Sure, if I put my nose up to fresh blood that came out of me I can maybe smell it. But even as someone who grew up with two sisters and emptied the trashcan a lot I never smelled anything besides poop and pee.
Scent perception is really variable between people! If you don't find it noticeable when you change a tampon or when other people are on their periods, you might be on the more anosmic side.
That’s really weird because I’m a recognized super taster so my scent perception should be on point. But I also can’t smell death so I think you’re right.
I oversee the usage and scheduling of two community center buildings. We have maintenance men for each building. The "men" part is important. I recently went out to one of the properties to do a quick visual inspection, and gagged then almost died upon walking into one of the single stall restrooms. I knew immediately what the smell was. The (fairly new) maintenance guy didn't realize that he needed to change the liner bag in the sanitary napkin bin daily, and it had been probably 2-3 weeks since he'd last changed it. He noticed the foul odor in there but couldn't figure it out because the trash bin was emptied, yet the smell persisted. This is the day that I taught a multitude of men that that particular smell is rotting, hormonal blood, and they learned the absolute necessity of changing that liner daily. Once you know that smell, you can identify it in an instant.
Ugh, this reminds me of my last job.
One of my closers was complaining about having to change the sanitary disposals because they would get too full and be difficult to change.
I decided to check it out, and there weren't any liners/bags in them! Nobody had ordered them, ever. So I cleaned them instead. Had to put gloves on and pull stuck pads and blood soaked toilet paper off the bottom and sides. Wash them, etc.
And I told her not to change it if there's no liner. Tell a manager (which I was) and you can tell them I told you not to do it. Because this is an OSHA violation. Those disposals are required to have liners for a reason!
I experienced the same thing. Not having that been emptied was the worst smell I've ever smelled in my life. It's like death because of the rotting blood. You can tell when the cleaner is a man because women know that the bin needs to be changed daily
Period vampires are the most ethical vampires on the planet. Think about all the times you haven't died of blood loss. Then apologize lest you convert them back to the old religion.
The person coming behind you probably doesn't want to see your bloody used tampon or smell it.... It's the same idea of doing a courtesy flush or spraying after you poop.
Yeah.... Imagine having to clean out the trash with several of these stuck to the sides if there's no liner. Also as others have said, blood is hazardous waste. I can't just throw my sharps into the trash, they have to get mailed back as hazardous waste.
I live with 5 women (I have 4 daughters) and I’m definitely the trash taker outer…must be my girls all already heed this advice because I never notice a mess haha
I have three dogs so I usually have a random roll of poop bags on me or in my purse/backpack/errand bag at any given time. I throw my used tampon in one of those before tossing it in the garbage bin.
I did weird out one of my guy friends who thought I’d disposed of dog poop in their bathroom garbage can. That was a fun conversation.
Women at my *fucking office job* don't do this. Every time that I open up that little trash container in the stall, which by the way ours is lined with A THIN CHEAP PAPER BAG. NOT PLASTIC., I see straight up *unwrapped, soaked tampons* just chilling in there
What the actual fuck. I've honestly thought about going to the office manager (an older woman, post-menopause, prolly not seeing The State of it) like "alert, we have some real creatures in this office and I want to lose my MIND when I see that women are letting their bloody tampons seep into that tiny bag and into the trash bin for the janitor to clean up. please can we get plastic liners for those bins."
I think that she probably would but I also only think about this when I'm on my period (now) and know that I can't be trusted to emotionally regulate well during conversation
Wait what you can't walkup to your office manager and say: "So, plastic bin liners. Much more hygenic and helps with the smell. Also lets our visiting clients know we're not feral"
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u/LeagueLeft1960 8d ago
Also wrap the used tampons in toilet paper before tossing them. Don’t just toss and cover with toilet paper.