The smell I was referring to is the smell that results from the chemical reaction between the absorbent materials in the pads themselves, the bleach used to make them white and pretty, the plastic backing and the menstrual fluid.
As for the smell with cloth- there is none, because there is nothing adverse for it to react to.
As for a separate wash- why? People mention that all the time, that they would have to have a separate wash, which isn’t true. There is nothing nasty about the pads, and nothing from the pads gets on anything else. The rinse bucket that the pads sit in takes care of anything that may come out of the pads.
But to each their own. But don’t knock it til you try it.
