However you feel about getting your period, stains can be a problem. Everyone who gets a period has had to deal with unexpected period stains at some point in their lives. Usually this means stained underwear, pants, towels, or bedsheets.
If you’re getting your period and you’re reading this, worried about stains because you haven’t told your family you got your period - we hope you can find a way to chat with your parent or guardian or sibling about it. Periods are normal! Over half of the world’s population gets their period! And they’re also pretty cool when you learn about how and why they happen!
That said, stains can be annoying or just a fact of life.
How to deal with period stains on underwear or clothes
First things first, tracking and knowing when to expect your period’s arrival is the best way of avoiding dealing with period stains on clothes. If you know when your period is going to come, you can wear a period pad that day, even before you see any period blood.
It’s also a good idea to prepare a period kit for school containing pads, tampons, wipes, and a clean pair of underwear plus a ziplock bag to put your stained underwear inside to take back home. You can prepare this and keep it in your school bag or locker even before you get your first period. It’s also a good idea to keep a hoodie or sweater in your locker with sleeves you can tie around your waist in case you have a period leak that goes through your underwear and pants, skirt, or dress.
If you do get period stains on your underwear or pants, don’t just add them to the laundry hamper as they might sit there a while, making it harder to get the stain out. Run the underwear or the area of your jeans, skirt, or dress under some very cold water in a sink. Usually you’ll see lots of the period blood go down the sinkhole immediately. You can then, if you need to, use soap or a stain remover on the area where there is still a stain and rub it gently. Hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, salt, or baking soda work well and parents often have these around the house. You can use an old toothbrush to rub it in.
If the underwear or pants have sat in your bag or locker for a few days, you’ll want to soak them in a sink of very cold water overnight before using soap or a stain remover on the stain in the same way.
After this, put the underwear or clothing in the laundry hamper or in the washing machine as normal, so they are fresh and clean to be worn again.
How to deal with period stains on sheets or bedding
The process to remove period stains from sheets is the same, but you’ll be spot treating the sheets before putting them in the laundry hamper or washing machine. Find the area that is stained and run it under cold water or blot with cold water-soaked cloth. Use salt, half a lemon, or a baking soda paste on the area if needed, although this shouldn’t be necessary if the stain just happened that night. You can also rub an ice cube on it if this is easier to handle. Hydrogen peroxide is like bleach, so don’t use that on dark clothing or dark sheets! If the stain has gone through to the mattress pad, use a flannel soaked in cold water and gently rub and then use a stain remover too if needed. Let it air dry before you remake the bed.
