Does soaking in hydrogen peroxide cause colored cups to fade?

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21 September 2012 @ 04:36 pm

Hi, I first want to say that I really like this community, I've been reading it for a few years, and this is my first post. So much help here for cup users!

I'm a 19 year old woman and I've been using a small Divacup for four years. I've loved it ever since I cut off the stem. Now my old cup has a bit of a smell and yellow tinge to it, and I think I'm going to get a new purple classic medium Meluna and blue glittered small MINI Meluna. (For heavy and light days.) (Plus they're the cutest out there!)

I plan on using Polident tablets or hydrogen peroxide to disinfect them. One thing I'm worried about is whether either of these, especially the h2o2, will cause a bleaching action on the colored cups I want, making their colors fade? Has anyone had this happen?

Also, the company says it is required to sterilize the cups before and after your period. Is this true? I notice a lot of people here don't sterilize, but the Meluna material, TPE, is porous, unlike silicone, so I don't know if I can get away with not following their recommendation.

Thanks!

Tags: cleaning - stains, cleaning - sterilising solution, meluna

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anh06005 on September 22nd, 2012 02:36 am (UTC)

I believe the colorant is actually IN the material so there should not be fading. I haven't had any fading with peroxide and my lunette cynthia (purple).

As for the sterilizing nothing is truly REQUIRED. Even if you just washed with soap and water at the end of your period i don't see how any bacteria could live on the cup for 3 weeks since it will be dry and have no food source. I typically put mine in a cup with some peroxide and water and let it soak between cycles. No risk of burning and it still stays clean and pretty :)</p>

You should try soaking your diva in peroxide. My lunette got dingy/slightly smelly and a soak for a few hours made it look BRAND NEW. Woo hoo!

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alia_ra on September 22nd, 2012 04:00 am (UTC)

Thanks! I used to soak my Diva after every cycle in peroxide, but I stopped after I knew the company says it harms them. I don't want it to be more susceptible to bacteria or have bad residue coming off inside me or anything like that. I don't know if it's already been compromised; that's part of the reason I want the Melunas. Their company promotes using hydrogen peroxide.

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juliiie87 on September 22nd, 2012 01:19 pm (UTC)

I don't think it hurts any of them, as long as the peroxide isn't highly concentrated (the OTC stuff should be fine) since the silicone ones are all, pretty much the same material afaiu. The company's recommendations are just their lawyers talking. Hydrogen peroxide is actually a disinfectant, so I'd think your cup would be less "compromised" to use when clean than dingy and smelly... just my 2 cents. Oh and another thing you could try, is give your cup a plain sunbath for a few days. This should lighten up the discoloration and air out any smell. Sunlight also has antibacterial properties. Or rub it with alcool.

Edited at 2012-09-22 01:58 pm (UTC)

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alia_ra on September 22nd, 2012 05:59 pm (UTC)

Thanks Juliiie. I don't exactly know what to believe about the peroxide issue, but you seem to know a bit about it.

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okwaho_okara on September 22nd, 2012 04:33 am (UTC)

My small blue Fluercup came out looking like new after soaking it overnight in peroxide :)

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alia_ra on September 22nd, 2012 04:39 am (UTC)

Thanks, I won't be worried much anymore. :)

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okwaho_okara on September 23rd, 2012 12:22 am (UTC)

You're welcome! It should not harm it at all. I was trying to find for you the post where I learned a TON of information and tips about using hydrogen peroxide but I cannot seem to find it. Here is a link to my post I made after doing the soak, though:
http://menstrual-cups.livejournal.com/2919594.html#comments

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ladycallie on September 22nd, 2012 10:03 pm (UTC)

I had a yeast infection after my last cycle, so I wanted to clean my cups a little more aggressively then my usual soap and water. SO I soaked them in peroxide for 24 hours, and they came out sparkling.

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okwaho_okara on September 23rd, 2012 12:24 am (UTC)

It's so wonderful after soaking them, isn't it! I was starting to get sick of my small blue Fluercup being stained around the holes and around the rim, and after a soak, good as new! I plan to do it every 3-4 months, as it took about that long to stain enough to bother me!

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