Cleaning your reusable menstrual pads should not have to be an all-day chore or a hassle that makes us hate using cloth pads or having our period even! It should be fun, getting to use cute prints and different fabrics which make having your period more pleasant.
If you are like me and want to just wait until wash day, then I have a zippered wet bag that can hold all of my pads. Having a zippered wet bag makes it nice and convenient for storing them and not having a mess or much of a smell all over. Once you have used a pad, spray it with peroxide (you can get little bottles with a sprayer that fit nicely underneath a sink) once sprayed, place them in your bag and once your cycle is done, pull them all out and spray once more as you put them into the washer. You then put them in the dryer on low or medium heat. You can put them in with towels just to give your batch more bulk.
Washers and water- getting your cloth pads clean and your routine can vary depending on your washer. If you have a top load, or front load washer then put it on the highest load setting, so you have the most water in the batch. Cloth pads need water to help them to come clean. So, if you have a water saving setting then I suggest turning that off when you wash your cloth pads.
If you have a wringer washer or older washing machine, then they usually use enough water, and you just use your largest setting.
Detergent- There are many different detergents that you can use. I just recommend using ones with the highest enzymes so that it can get all of the blood out and give you a clean pad. Detergents are formulated to grab onto the proteins and dirt, etc. and wash out with minimal agitating, which is why they are more energy efficient.
Handmade soap works great as long as you have plenty of agitating like an old top load or wringer washer or hand washing since soap binds to the proteins, blood, etc. and needs the agitating or rubbing together to make it release.