My cup made it into the washing machine...
Idk how it happened but my cup (in its little baggy) made it into the wash. It seems fine but smells strongly of detergent. Would this still be safe to use?
Posted Aug 29, 2020, 3:02 PM UTC
4525
I would try and get rid of the smell. Is your cup silicone or tpe?
I've recovered silicone things that smelt very strongly, sometimes it takes a good amount of time. Worst was essential oils in a silicone cup cake liner which took months.
Airing it out can really help. Do not hide away your cup in a drawer - the smell will just get trapped in with the cup.
Soak in water with a splash of vinegar might remove some of the smell.
Old school bury in baking soda might help. Wash well before trying to put inside you.
If it's silicone putting it on a sunny windowsill for as long as possible (weeks) is a good bet.
Tissue can help absorb a smell. Wet the cup. Wrap in two pieces of tp. The leftover water on the cup makes the tp stick to the cup, inside and out. Leave somewhere airy to dry and keep in a well ventilated area. Wouldn't hurt to put your tp cup on a sunny windowsill. Throw away the tissue after a couple of days. If the tissue is smelly you know it's working for that smell and you can repeat. If the tissue doesn't smell, try a different method.
37
If you don't have baking soda, you can also try uncooked white rice and even salt. Cheap things that you might have lying around that are good for absorbing odors. Obviously wash the cup after and throw away the rice/salt. :)
For the bag, consider doing the same (burying) or even putting it in the freezer overnight. Not strictly necessary, however, if you don't, you might find that you're faced with the same smell on your cup next month after using your bag.
Good luck!
1
Sterilise it in boiling water for a few minutes, should help it a bit. You may have to boil it a couple times. Maybe also try some perfume free feminine wash before you boil it x
15
feminine wash? like a douche?
0
No. Feminine washes are for washing the labia ONLY and shouldn’t be put inside the vagina. They are be safe to wash cups though as long as they are perfume free and you wash all of it off before reinserting
1
Call your OB and ask ? That’s the safest option I think. Especially because it goes INSIDE your vag.
11
You can absolutely remove soaps/detergents from silicone. I’ve never had that issue with my cup, but I have ten aquariums, most were secondhand, and sometimes they have to be bleached to kill any pathogens. The seals are silicone. For my tanks that have been soaked in bleach I usually rinse them a dozen times or so until they no longer have a smell before they’re safe. The same principle goes for cups. Rinse the hell out of it. Boiling may help, vinegar may help, feminine wash my help. Just keep rinsing. Once you’ve rinsed it enough to remove the smell, it’s likely safe. I’d let it soak in water + vinegar for a day or two to help loosen the detergent.
11
I’d wash it with an unscented soap and boil it for 5 minutes and use it like normal
5
Boil it, soak in hydrogen peroxide, boil again, if it still has any smell then toss it and buy a new one
3
Soak in vinegar then boil a lot
2
Perhaps a dusting of activated carbon from a capsule, leave awhile and wash off. There was a fad a while ago for whitening teeth with carbon, iirc it didn’t harm anyone. My only experience with silicone bakeware had to be abandoned because everything I baked taste like fragrance from the dumb muffin tray, no matter what I did to it. I concluded it was manufactured with fragrance in process (wtf and why?) rather than absorbed it somewhere afterwards. Carbon might draw the vocs similar to baking soda. It’s easier to bury a cup in baking soda than a whole muffin tray. I see a good chance of that working. If your underwear doesn’t irritate you when washed in that detergent then the cup probably won’t and doing nothing it may just return to normal slowly. The metals in blood might help catalyse and speed up fragrance decomposition.
1
Follow up with the company ?
1
To get rid of the soap, boil. If it still smells, try soaking/wiping with rubbing alcohol. Always let it air out after a cleaning, before storing it.
1
Another great method of cleaning silicon is to leave it in the sun! It may help with getting the smell away. But definitely boil to make sure to clean off any detergent. I recommend sunning it a bit and leaving it in an area where there’s lots of air circulation
1
Boil it, 3-5 minutes each time. Let it air dry before storing it. Ideally let it dry in the sun.
Do this as many times as you need to feel secure in its scent, color, whatever.
Also, detergent up the vagina is a "Never." so consider using an alternative till it's useable again.
1
Boil it + leave it in the sun. Should do the trick!
1
Just soak it in hydrogen peroxide overnight... it will be fine
0†
I'm a huge fan of hydrogen peroxide, but this is unlikely to be a relevant activator. See some of quietbynecessity's recommendations.
1
No.
0
I wouldnt risk it. If you boil it awhile and the smell seems to dissipate, maybe it'd be ok? But you really dont wanna risk putting laundry detergent up there. Sounds like a good way to end up with at least a rash or a yeast infection. If your cup isn't brand new might as well use this as an excuse to replace it. They should be replaced once a year or so anyways.
-1
You definitely do not have to replace silicone cups every year if you're caring for them properly. I don't know about other materials.
7
I believe divacups recommend doing so in the care instructions, however that's likely a liability thing they have to say. I've definitely used a cup longer than a year, I just know that many companies recommended replacing them after awhile, but that may also be a marketing strategy to make people buy more cups.
1
It's not a liability. It's a smart business tactic to get people to purchase another cup. It's in their best interest, not yours. But it's a choice on their part, not a requirement or constraint.
2
My saalt soft is supposed to last 10 years. I bought one because it would cost me $40 for 10 years of period care rather than the $700+ I would normally spend in 10 years. Doesn’t seem right to get an environmentally friendly option that you indeed throw out every year anyway. Like yeah it might not last all 10 of those years but even 5 is better than 1.
4
Yeah I don't know. I've definitely used a silicone cup longer than a year before replacing it, I just seem to remember the care manual for the divacup recommends replaces after approximately a year. Probably unnecessary, but thats just what the company says. Maybe other companies are more honest about how long a cup should last. My last divacup definitely lasted way longer than a year, and there wasn't actually anything wrong with it when I replaced it, it had just been a few years and seemed time for a replacement.
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I’d be worried about the detergent being an irritant, like how you shouldn’t use scented soaps. Maybe try boiling it and washing it a lot? I don’t think it’d be necessary to throw away.