Cleaning your ultra-soft menstrual cup is not as complicated as it sounds. Knowing how to clean and look after your cup during your period and once your period is over is crucial to owning an ultra-soft menstrual cup. It not only ensures that your cup will last longer, but more importantly that you’re putting your health and safety first! In this blog we discuss how to clean your ultra-soft menstrual cup and what to do if your cup begins to smell.
How to clean the your cup at home:
Your cup should be washed and wiped clean before and after your cycle and each time you reinsert it into your vagina after emptying it. Your cup should be emptied at least twice a day, this could increase or decrease depending on your flow.
One way to clean your cup is to simply rinse it thoroughly with water. If you want to avoid any discoloration of your cup, first rinse it with cold water and then rinse it with warm water. We’ll explain why rinsing with cold water FIRST is important a bit later on in the blog.
The second option is to use a mild soap with no harsh chemicals, dyes or perfume to wash your cup. It’s best to use a soap that’s specifically made for menstrual cups, but if you don’t have that using a non-toxic soap is the next best option. If you want to go a step further you can use an old toothbrush to scrub the cup, which will help clean the grooves and tiny holes that rinsing may not be able to clean as effectively.
You can also sterilise your ultra-soft menstrual cup between cycles (once your period is over or just before your period begins) by letting the cup soak in boiling water for 3 – 5 minutes. Just make sure the cup doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot or bowl because it could burn. Make sure the cup stays in the boiling water for a maximum of 5 minutes otherwise it could get damaged.
How to clean your cup in a public bathroom:
This sounds a lot trickier than it actually is! Begin by emptying your cup in the toilet, then use our ultra-soft intimate wet wipes to clean or rather wipe down your cup before inserting it again. It’s as simple as that! If you forget your wipes you can use toilet paper. Although our wipes are the best and most convenient option in this case. Plus, we have a travel size pack which can easily fit into a bag!
How to stop your cup from smelling:
Getting a smell from your ultra-soft menstrual cup after using it for some time is normal. There’s no shame in any smell developing, and you shouldn’t feel embarrassed or grossed out by it either. Also, no one else would be able to smell it, unless they change or empty your cup for you. Usually the cup develops a sour smell, and there are a number of ways to prevent and get rid of this.
Firstly, to prevent the smell you should be emptying your cup at least every 4 – 8 hours. Although cups can be worn for up to 12 hours depending on your flow, emptying and cleaning it at least twice a day will prevent it from smelling. So, each time you remove and insert the cup you should clean it. This can be done either with a non-toxic soap as mentioned earlier, with our intimate wet wipes or a rinse with COLD water first and then you can use hot water.
Using cold water first to clean the cup is best because it prevents any staining from the blood, discoloration and smell from occurring. Whereas, warm water will create stains and there will be more chances of a smell. One method to avoid a smell is to first rinse the cup in cold water, wash with hot water and a mild soap, and you could take it a step further by scrubbing the cup with a toothbrush.
You can also use a vinegar and water solution to remove any smell. This is cool because the vinegar also acts as a bleaching agent, so if there is any discoloration on your ultra-soft menstrual cup the vinegar will get rid of it. Create a solution of half water, half vinegar and soak the cup in there for 40 mins to an hour. Make sure to rinse THOROUGHLY, you don’t want any remnants of vinegar left on the cup when you use it again.
Another natural way to remove the smell is by using lemon juice. You can also soak the cup in lemon juice for an hour, then boil it in water for 3 – 5 minutes to make sure no more lemon juice remains on the cup. Alternatively, you can wipe down the cup on the inside and outside with lemon juice, just make sure to boil it in water afterwards,
Lastly:
If you’ve done all of this and you’re still getting a smell, check if the smell is actually coming from the cup. Otherwise it could be coming from your vagina and it could be a number of things like a yeast infection or STI. If this is the case, you should book a doctors appointment. However, if it’s not an infection of any kind and you’ve tried what we’ve suggested above, it could just be time to get a new cup! If that’s the case, shop our ultra-soft menstrual cups here:
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