Nishmat's Women’s Health and HalachaIn memory of Chaya Mirel bat R' Avraham

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Colored cloth pads

31 May, 2005
Question:

I just read your article on sanitary napkins and I have a question. I use Glad Rags (www.gladrags.com) during my menstrual period – they are reusable, washable cloth menstrual pads, all of mine are coloured and some of them are organic. Does any of this make a difference in my niddah status? I know that your article mentioned "raw cotton" – which is not the same as organic cotton, but I'm wondering if my pads will pose any problems with my niddah status.
Thanks so much for this great site!


Answer:

Colored cloth pads do not make a difference in your niddah status during your menstrual period. A flow of blood makes you niddah even if you find it only on a colored surface. Furthermore, you may already be in niddah when you start using the pads.

Colored cloth pads might make a difference if you wore them to absorb light staining (as opposed to a flow). Such pads are halachically equivalent to colored underwear, and a stain found on colored underwear does not make you niddah. Please see our article on Stains for more details.

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