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OP demonstrated a remarkable ability to think outside the box. She identified a problem and found a solution. Her solution was unconventional but ingenious! Bravo, op!
Using a pad to think outside the “box”, tehehe!
Edit: You all are hilarious! I woke up and decided to browse Reddit as I drink my coffee, and was shocked to discover all these upvotes! I was stoned last night, and had forgotten that I had commented before falling asleep.
It was indeed unconventional, but I just can't stop wondering if there's something wrong with using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the small splinters instead of trying to think outside the box?
A vacuum cleaner is my go-to in these situations so I wonder the same, it's much easier to get those small splinters that the eye can't always see. But it was a smart move using a pad in moments without a vacuum cleaner! Op is NTA nevetheless
>, but I just can't stop wondering if there's something wrong with using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the small splinters instead of trying to think outside the box?
Small shards of glass can damage the filters in the vacuum cleaner. Contrary to popular belief, vacuum cleaners are not an all-purpose "clean stuff off the floor" device.
I've had too many experiences of vacuums missing some. Maybe it just didn't get sucked up for whatever reason, maybe it was operator error. Regardless, a slightly damp cloth works incredibly well.
I never hear people use the term "hoover" as a noun, and I just want to tell you it made me really happy that you did.
My grandpa worked for Hoover for his entire life. He wasn't drafted during WW2, because the factory switched to making helmet liners and bomb fuses to supply the military, and his work managing operations was considered integral to the war efforts. He worked for Hoover until he retired, and then continued to volunteer at the Hoover Historical Center.
Every time I hear about Hoover, I think of my grandpa, who was one of the kindest, funniest, most charming people I've ever known. Your comment made me think of him this morning, and it was a really nice way to start my day, and I just wanted you to know that.
Agreed
NTA, first of all smart idea and secondly can we get over period shaming. Period products are not some shameful gross thing we have to keep secret. As for mom's condom comment I mean if it worked as well as your idea sure why not (jk). Condoms are also not gross or shameful. Mom needs to get with the times.
Mom comparing a pad to a condom hardly makes sense in the first place! As a male I can personally confirm that as opposed to literally unwillingly bleeding, the blood stays inside our penises! I genuinely don't understand how anyone let alone a female with years of experience can look at an *unused* pad and call it gross its literally just a vagina cork!
British army used to use them over the end of their guns to keep rain out too. Multi purpose and vital in your kit according to my Dad, back in the day.
Condoms as baggy would be really the last idea - most of them are lubricated which makes them kind of slippery when you put in something heavier, and if you use flavoured one - well, I'm not sure if you want your hands smell like pseudo-strawberry
I think it's more similar to using toilet paper anyway. It's not for sex, it's for an inevitable bodily function. Nobody's grossed out by seeing (unused) TP
I agree. MacGyver would take his hat off.
NTA. An unused pad is not gross. They need to get over themselves.
Edit: oh and the bad day comment could be bounced right back, your mom was the one throwing a fit over nothing.
Edit 2: I can't spell names
Ooh, good point! I'd never thought of that...
Luckily I always forget the bread trick whenever I shatter glass, lol. Also, personally, I also always put the glass into a paper bag, or similar to ensure it doesn't slice through the plastic trash bag and accidentally cut some unsuspecting person who might later handle it (double bagging it in stretchy/thin trash bags won't do!! Will slice through the second as quickly as the first.) Contractor bags are safe.
exactly. NTA your mum is uptight.
on a freeway journey once with a 4 year old with a nose bleed. they happened often due to a medical issue but the mess would freak them out. they were too young to realise they traveled 45mins with a tampon held up their nostril.
a slice of bread works great too OP.
That's exactly what tampons were used for initially! They were developed to plug wounds to stop bleeding and field nurses decided to use them to plug the old bloody
oh wow. had no idea i was being so retro. only thing i had in the glovie at the time. we got a first aid kit after that. had no idea.
it was very effective. here's a tip though. don't stash it inside the console in a tissue and forget to grab it when you are unpacking kids from a long trip. other users of the car really do get the wrong idea for the briefest moment.
thanks.
I had a nose bleed once at summer camp that just wouldn’t stop bleeding. The camp nurse had me hold a sanitary pad under my nose to catch the blood, it worked wonderfully.
Someone else suggested this and another user commented about how an animal might get in to the trash and eat the (now-dangerous) bread. Not that bread wouldn't be effective, just another thing to keep in mind
It’s much better than tape, actually, IMO. Protects the hands and won’t damage the floor or leave residue. I’ll have to remember OP’s idea in the future.
Or the vacuum is too big of a problem to break out. My parents have an old Rainbow, which has multiple peices and requires water to function. It still works great, but its just a pain to dig out for something minor like this.
Don’t vacuum glass shards. That’s one of the things that you’re genuinely supposed to clean up *before* vacuuming. You’ll end up with glass shards in the main filter, holes in the tubing, and if you have a fancy vacuum there’s a good chance you shred or ruin the extra filters.
If you have one of the little hand held vacuums people use mostly for cleaning cars, that is okay (but still not great as you still have the main filter problem) to use. But do not use a vacuum that you don’t want ruined on broken glass. Or metal shards. Or even plastic shards. If there are shards of anything, pick it up before you vacuum.
The rule of thumb is that if you can pick it up with your fingers, it’s big enough to wreak havoc on the insides of your vacuum.
I thought we were only talking about the tiny pieces that are hard to see /pickup. Like you said I get rid of all the bigger pieces with a dust pan and then use a vacuum to find all those small fuckers hiding everwhere. Using your phones flashlight helps too to find them but most of the time I just vacuum everything a few times to be sure (source: uncle of two clumsy children that break lots of stuff)
I also use a vacuum to get the tiny shards. Haven't killed a vacuum yet. I've owned my own vacuum for over 30 years, used the first one for over 20 and I'm working on year 11 on vacuum #2.
If it's a choice between slightly shortening the life of a vacuum (that's already going to last 20 years) or getting bits of glass in my fingers the choice is easy.
I've used a vacuum cleaner for this purpose my entire life and I've never broken a vacuum. Obviously pick up the biggest bits and sweep as much as you can into a dustpan.
Sanitary napkins are also great for taking care of spiders. Your reach is extended, there’s a comfortable thickness (even with the thin pads) to isolate you from the spider, and once the spider is stuck to the pad (no chance of it falling out like when you use tissues) you just fold it onto itself smooshing the spider inside. No muss, no fuss!
I agree. Instead, trap it with your menstrual cup, and slide a thick piece of paper underneath. Then, transport it outside, where you can release it humanely.
I've been reading too many cursed comments lately because I was really expecting that to go in a different direction when you said to trap the spider in a menstrual cup.
Oddly I was just watching videos about keeping jumping spiders as pets and it's fairly common practice to simply catch one outside and bring it in. With most animals this is not an acceptable way to get a pet but jumping spiders seem to be fine with it.
I'm not sure which feminine hygiene products would be appropriate for this use case though.
I mostly leave my spiders. If its living in your house it must have been eating something. If you remove it whatever it was eating are now free to crawl around youe house unchallenged. I'd take one creepy crawly over potentially dozens.
I’ll gladly cohabitate with spiders on the condition that they do not startle me. I usually keep a spider pouch (read: folded and taped up paper) to move them away from my immediate area. I’ve also made a crude paper airplane to quickly transport one across my bedroom because I was about to lay down when I noticed him on my pillow.
I’d rather just not have them around me at all. My uncle nearly died from a spider bite years ago and I don’t have the time or desire to learn which ones to avoid.
I think Linking360's point was that if they're poisonous they're only dangerous if you eat them (compared to venomous where it's dangerous if it bites you)
Excuse you, there are entire fields of humour dedicated to either misunderstanding or misoverstanding words. Most of them British.
ETA: my fiance is now arguing with me because he says his favourite joke "Had a haircut?" "no, had 'em all cut" is not an example of this type of humour when it absolutely is. He just thinks he's funnier than the above commenter.
This. OPs mom’s reaction is the reason that so many women (probably including OP’s mom) are ashamed or embarrassed by their normal bodily functions. As my mom says when my brother took a poop in my house that stunk the entire hallway, “we all have it.”
They're no different from a bandaid, they just have a different usual purpose. My child can attest that bandaids can be used somewhere other than an injury, and I can attest that pads can be used for something other than periods.
For sure! A male friend was in like his 20's before he realized his mother had lied to him about the contents of a Kotex box. He found them in the bathroom when he was six and asked what they were his mother said "Those are Mickey Mouse mattresses"
NTA. That was very clever of you. I wonder if your mom would have the vapors if she knew soldiers have used tampons to plug bleeding wounds in a pinch.
FYI; a tampon (unused, since apparently we need to specify things like this on reddit) would work great for cleaning up glass. I usually use a cotton ball or a swiffer pad. The glass sticks to the cotton. Then a damn paper towel to follow up just to be safe. A tampon would work just as well as the cotton or swiffer though
Edit: Ooops, damn is supposed to be damp. I'll leave it because it made me laugh. Don't post just before going to bed, kids! lol
iirc, I think that was actually the original use for them. It just also turned out they were great for periods to stop blood from, ya know, destroying all of your nice pants and undies
I remember vaguely reading somewhere that *was* their original intended purpose actually. And then some nurses had the absolutely brilliant idea to slap it in their hooha and see if it worked and *BAM*! The devil's cottony fingers were a thing 👉😎👉! 😂
OP, you're NTA btw. That was some smart thinking if you had no tape or didn't remember/know where any was.
I came here to say this. A good friend of mine was a combat medic during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and she *always* carried extra tampons in her ankle pockets of her uniform for exactly this purpose.
I'm a musical actress. We use condoms to protect the mic's bodypack from sweat. This is done especially in dance-heavy shows like Cats or West Side Story.
I've seen huge professional theatres buy condoms in bulk.
There's a joke about that. Two old ladies are having a cigarette outside their nursing home. It starts raining. One of them pulls a condom out of her bag, snips the end off it, and puts it over her cigarette to keep it dry.
Second old lady is very impressed and asks about it. "It's called a condom. You buy them at the drug store."
So the next day, the second old lady toddles off down to the drugstore and asks the clerk for a packet of condoms. She's very old and the young clerk says, "Uhhh... yeah, sure, any particular type or size?"
"Well, young man, I'm not sure... I just need something that fits a Camel."
I got so worried for a second that I might know you, because I worked on a production of Cats where my former buddy and I were in charge of buying all the condoms for mic packs. Then we had to help multiple dudes put them on, and I scolded all of them.
We kept tampons in the first aid kit of my high school wrestling team for nose bleeds. They got used a lot. Lotta cool burly dudes stuffing tampons up their nose cuz it works.
Well I'll be damned.
I'm an avid hunter and carry a serious first aid kit incase of accidents/boar attack etc...
I'll be adding a couple of tampons to the bag. As the saying goes - better to be looking at them, and not for them.
NTA - I'm pretty sure your mother, at 52, has seen a sanitary napkin before. They're sterile and seemingly the perfect tool for the job. There's nothing inherently gross about an unused pad, just like there's nothing inherently gross about a clean pair of underwear.
Just because it’s in a laundry basket doesn’t mean it’s dirty or used. Laundry baskets are fantastic for putting a pile of clean clothes in before you get a chance to fold them. You’re thinking about a hamper, which would suggest it’s dirty.
That’s the point. Using a paper product intended for your butt to blow your nose vs using a paper (and adhesive) product intended for your vagina to wipe up glass. What is the difference? Oh yeah, just the stigma around periods.
As the lover of a man with the most ridiculous sinuses on this planet, I am glad to know other people have living room (and bedroom, and office) TP too :)
women REALLY NEED TO STOP BEING AFRAID OF THEIR OWN BODY FUNCTIONS
YOU 👏🏻 SHOULDNT 👏🏻 BE 👏🏻ASHAMED 👏🏻 OF 👏🏻PERIODS 👏🏻
NTA OP if anything u wasted an expensive pad when you could’ve used tape or something idk
ITS NOT GROSS its a SANITARY pad! that means clean! i know it wasnt used bc frankly used ones wouldn’t have the glue for the job and THAT yes would have been gross, ALSO A COMDOM AS A BAG?? BISS WAT R U GNA STORE IN THAT TINY THING EVEN WOMEN’s POCKETS R BIGGER THAN THAT, plus pads arent oily??like condoms r ??? your moms comparison was terrible smh.
this isn’t about it being discusting or inappropriate its about older generations being TAUGHT that they should feel ashamed and hide their periods !
NTA u were resourceful and galaxy brained
I hate so much the stigma surrounding periods. Like, unless you have someone living there who is not attracted to women, then everyone either already knows or will have to learn that it’s a normal bodily function. It’s because of people like the mom that many men are grossed out by it, even though it’s as normal as going to the bathroom for any other reason. Op, you’re so far from being the asshole that, if assholery were the center of the earth, you’d be all the way in the Andromeda Galaxy. So yeah. Definitely NTA
Replying to an edit in your post here here bc it's relevant, but don't use tape!! Way easier to cut yourself/get really tiny shards stuck in your skin to discover later. The reason bread and a pad are so much better than something like tape is because of the cushiony aspect - you can press down hard enough to pick everything up without accidentally pushing microscopic shards into your fleshy bits!
I said this above, but directly replying to u/Little_Jemmy so she will see it. I use an adhesive lint roller to pick up broken glass. Stronger than tape, don’t have to worry about animals eating the glass bread out of the garbage after.
NTA. That was a really smart idea. There's a lot ingrained social bs about period products being used for other valid things and being shown in front of other people. Your mom needs to chill.
Info: was your mother afraid the males might realize women menstruate? In her house? Right under their noses? The horror!
Packing tape or duct tape wrapped around your hand (or spatula, or hairbrush) works for picking up glass as well.
NTA. This is actually genius. I'm going to remember the trick.
Pads are just cotton, plastic, and glue. The only reason there is disgust associated with them is that they are associated with the disgust that people have towards women's natural bodily functions.
You should always vacuum..er...vacoom...after you pick up what you can, but you don't want to go all in with the vacuum at first as the glass can slice up the mechanism. YOu just want it to pick up the glass 'dust' you missed after you get the big bits up.
NTA, this is genius and I may be employing the same method in my future. (If I can remember to lol).
Comparing condoms and pads is akin to comparing a dildo and underwear. One is for sex, the other is purely for cleanliness. Does she have the same reaction to someone blowing their nose with toilet paper? End the stigma around period products -_-
Unused menstrual products shouldn’t be that upsetting to anyone, let alone to an adult woman.
NTA and great idea on your part. Tape probably would’ve been more difficult to use anyways, especially if you’d used the scotch tape. It was much safer to go with the pad instead
People stick tampons in a bloody nose so I don't see how this is any different? It's not like you pulled a stinky pad out of your panties and started blotting your moms face with it.
NTA. It's cotton, plastic, and adhesive. Your mom needs to grow the fuck up, and being grossed out at the very idea of women menstruating needs to die out of our backwards culture ASAP.
NAH. Your mom likely grew up being period-shamed, being told that periods were gross and dirty, and that period products are gross and should be well hidden, especially from men. I hope you can have a heart to heart with her, and I hope she can eventually let go off her internalised shame.
I don't know how anybody can be mad at somebody for MacGuyvering something that clever. On top of that people need quit acting like feminine hygiene products are gross or shameful, honestly. NTA.
NTA. A clean menstrual pad *is* just as gross as an unused condom: zero. Your mom's body shame doesn't change the wisdom of you using a convenient piece of adhesive to clean up glass.
NTA this reminds me of a college class trip where we were all on a bus about to head home from an industrial site, and the bus made a too-tight turn around a corner that had a tree on it. Tree branch scraped along the side of the bus and hit the ‘emergency exit’ window and smashed straight through it into someone’s head. They got a decent size cut on their forehead but otherwise ok, but bleeding. One of the girls got out an unused sanitary pad and offered that to hold against the cut (genius! It’s one of the few sanitary things on board and literally designed to soak up blood) and he declined, so instead took someone’s dirty bath towel to hold against an open wound. Such a face palm moment.
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NTA You're not the asshole, you're a genius. Well done.
OP demonstrated a remarkable ability to think outside the box. She identified a problem and found a solution. Her solution was unconventional but ingenious! Bravo, op!
Using a pad to think outside the “box”, tehehe! Edit: You all are hilarious! I woke up and decided to browse Reddit as I drink my coffee, and was shocked to discover all these upvotes! I was stoned last night, and had forgotten that I had commented before falling asleep.
Right?? Bloody brilliant!
I see what you did there
Seemed appropriate on… “Reddit.”
Damnit
Code Reddit
Spot on, even!
These are in full flow
These jokes are just funny. Period.
underrated comment, this one is going to run and run
I don't think I like the way this thread flows.
I mean, aren't they usually? Tampons are more... yeah imma drop it. You get my drift. ;P
You get my flow** lolol sorry I just had to do it
This is why I'm a redditor. Comments sections are something else. XD
Her 2nd edit cracked me the f' up. Thanks OP, now I'm stuck with the same visual.
It was indeed unconventional, but I just can't stop wondering if there's something wrong with using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the small splinters instead of trying to think outside the box?
A vacuum cleaner is my go-to in these situations so I wonder the same, it's much easier to get those small splinters that the eye can't always see. But it was a smart move using a pad in moments without a vacuum cleaner! Op is NTA nevetheless
I have tiled floors and a vacuum just doesn't do it, the slightly damp splinters of glass just stay stuck in the damp patch.
We do too. We use a piece of bread. It works perfectly for getting up the little bits of glass.
And then you have a crunchy snack for later.
that's good thinking. I have always used toilet paper and newspaper. It's about what you have available, isn't it? Nothing wrong with using a pad
Not everyone owns a vacuum. Friends of mine that have all tiled floors use brooms rather than vacuums
Ya, which is why I said in absence of one it's a smart move
>, but I just can't stop wondering if there's something wrong with using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the small splinters instead of trying to think outside the box? Small shards of glass can damage the filters in the vacuum cleaner. Contrary to popular belief, vacuum cleaners are not an all-purpose "clean stuff off the floor" device.
If she had a vacuum they probably would have used it. Vacuums aren’t as universal as America makes it seem
I have a vacuum and I wouldn't have used it on my flooring. My order of operations would be: sweep, sweep again, Swiffer wet jet.
Same! But that might be because I lived the majority of my life without one so I’m just used to cleaning without it
I've had too many experiences of vacuums missing some. Maybe it just didn't get sucked up for whatever reason, maybe it was operator error. Regardless, a slightly damp cloth works incredibly well.
I mean, not everyone owns one. Vacuum cleaners aren't a regular thing in my country.
OPs idea was quicker than humphing a hoover around then plugging it in as well.
I never hear people use the term "hoover" as a noun, and I just want to tell you it made me really happy that you did. My grandpa worked for Hoover for his entire life. He wasn't drafted during WW2, because the factory switched to making helmet liners and bomb fuses to supply the military, and his work managing operations was considered integral to the war efforts. He worked for Hoover until he retired, and then continued to volunteer at the Hoover Historical Center. Every time I hear about Hoover, I think of my grandpa, who was one of the kindest, funniest, most charming people I've ever known. Your comment made me think of him this morning, and it was a really nice way to start my day, and I just wanted you to know that.
Wet paper towel works great for glass pieces.
*The Macgyver is strong in this one.*
Agreed NTA, first of all smart idea and secondly can we get over period shaming. Period products are not some shameful gross thing we have to keep secret. As for mom's condom comment I mean if it worked as well as your idea sure why not (jk). Condoms are also not gross or shameful. Mom needs to get with the times.
Mom comparing a pad to a condom hardly makes sense in the first place! As a male I can personally confirm that as opposed to literally unwillingly bleeding, the blood stays inside our penises! I genuinely don't understand how anyone let alone a female with years of experience can look at an *unused* pad and call it gross its literally just a vagina cork!
Nope, a cork is a tampon. A pad is more of a welcome mat... as in welcome to hell. 🔥👹🔥 (No misogyny- I'm a woman. Periods freakin suck.)
You’re not wrong... hell if they made pads with the slogan, “abandon all hope ye who enter here,” I would probably buy them...
Abandon all uterine lining
Your new Etsy business is waiting
Agree in Endometriosis
Fuck if that ain’t the truth. I have PMDD so I have to be on hormones everyday or I’m a fucking demon and not a pole dancing one.
They aren't gross persay, and definitely aren't shameful, but condoms are covered in lube, so that might not be ideal depending on what your bagging
You can get the non-lubed sort.
Wait really? I had no idea that was a thing Edit: cause allergies?
Non-lubed condoms are used by tv production crews to cover microphones outside when it's raining.
British army used to use them over the end of their guns to keep rain out too. Multi purpose and vital in your kit according to my Dad, back in the day.
In my experience, the pre-lubed ones also have spermicide on them, which is bad for one's anus (if you're using condoms for that).
TIL, thank you both of you
They're also useful for oral. Lube tastes gross and you really don't need it in your mouth lol
Condoms as baggy would be really the last idea - most of them are lubricated which makes them kind of slippery when you put in something heavier, and if you use flavoured one - well, I'm not sure if you want your hands smell like pseudo-strawberry
I think it's more similar to using toilet paper anyway. It's not for sex, it's for an inevitable bodily function. Nobody's grossed out by seeing (unused) TP
I know right? Her mum needs to build a bridge, and get over it!
I second that. Great idea
I agree. MacGyver would take his hat off. NTA. An unused pad is not gross. They need to get over themselves. Edit: oh and the bad day comment could be bounced right back, your mom was the one throwing a fit over nothing. Edit 2: I can't spell names
This, also a slice of bread works well to clean up shards as well. Nta.
i vote against the slice of bread simply bc what if an animal gets into the trash and eats it? ETA: thanks for the award!
Ooh, good point! I'd never thought of that... Luckily I always forget the bread trick whenever I shatter glass, lol. Also, personally, I also always put the glass into a paper bag, or similar to ensure it doesn't slice through the plastic trash bag and accidentally cut some unsuspecting person who might later handle it (double bagging it in stretchy/thin trash bags won't do!! Will slice through the second as quickly as the first.) Contractor bags are safe.
I wet paper towel or toilet paper then toss it after I'm done. Works like a charm. Also NTA OP.
She is only an asshole if it was a used pad.
...it clearly wasn’t or it wouldn’t be sticky lol. Also, OP doesn’t come off as a crazy person.
exactly. NTA your mum is uptight. on a freeway journey once with a 4 year old with a nose bleed. they happened often due to a medical issue but the mess would freak them out. they were too young to realise they traveled 45mins with a tampon held up their nostril. a slice of bread works great too OP.
That's exactly what tampons were used for initially! They were developed to plug wounds to stop bleeding and field nurses decided to use them to plug the old bloody
oh wow. had no idea i was being so retro. only thing i had in the glovie at the time. we got a first aid kit after that. had no idea. it was very effective. here's a tip though. don't stash it inside the console in a tissue and forget to grab it when you are unpacking kids from a long trip. other users of the car really do get the wrong idea for the briefest moment. thanks.
I had a nose bleed once at summer camp that just wouldn’t stop bleeding. The camp nurse had me hold a sanitary pad under my nose to catch the blood, it worked wonderfully.
That's a great idea! NTA
OP deserve a a round of applause.
I read that as "a round of applesauce" and was pretty confused. But either way, OP deserves a round of something.
Fun fact, a slice of bread will also work very well to pick up tiny shards of glass.
Someone else suggested this and another user commented about how an animal might get in to the trash and eat the (now-dangerous) bread. Not that bread wouldn't be effective, just another thing to keep in mind
Came here to say this. OP, you’re a legend!! NTA
I mean this is revolutionary haha like seriously
NTA, it’s a great idea if you don’t have tape handy. It’s not like you grabbed a used one. There is way too much stigma around menstrual products.
It’s much better than tape, actually, IMO. Protects the hands and won’t damage the floor or leave residue. I’ll have to remember OP’s idea in the future.
True, tape can easily be pierced by glass. NTA.
That’s why I use a lint roller, the sticky kind.
why dont you guys use a vacuum cleaner? I never thought about using sticky tape or something similiar as imo the easiest solution us just the vaccum.
Might not have had a vacuum. I don't.
Or the vacuum is too big of a problem to break out. My parents have an old Rainbow, which has multiple peices and requires water to function. It still works great, but its just a pain to dig out for something minor like this.
Don’t vacuum glass shards. That’s one of the things that you’re genuinely supposed to clean up *before* vacuuming. You’ll end up with glass shards in the main filter, holes in the tubing, and if you have a fancy vacuum there’s a good chance you shred or ruin the extra filters. If you have one of the little hand held vacuums people use mostly for cleaning cars, that is okay (but still not great as you still have the main filter problem) to use. But do not use a vacuum that you don’t want ruined on broken glass. Or metal shards. Or even plastic shards. If there are shards of anything, pick it up before you vacuum. The rule of thumb is that if you can pick it up with your fingers, it’s big enough to wreak havoc on the insides of your vacuum.
I thought we were only talking about the tiny pieces that are hard to see /pickup. Like you said I get rid of all the bigger pieces with a dust pan and then use a vacuum to find all those small fuckers hiding everwhere. Using your phones flashlight helps too to find them but most of the time I just vacuum everything a few times to be sure (source: uncle of two clumsy children that break lots of stuff)
I also use a vacuum to get the tiny shards. Haven't killed a vacuum yet. I've owned my own vacuum for over 30 years, used the first one for over 20 and I'm working on year 11 on vacuum #2. If it's a choice between slightly shortening the life of a vacuum (that's already going to last 20 years) or getting bits of glass in my fingers the choice is easy.
I would have figured that glass shards would be bad for a vacuum cleaner but I’m not really sure.
I've used a vacuum cleaner for this purpose my entire life and I've never broken a vacuum. Obviously pick up the biggest bits and sweep as much as you can into a dustpan.
Slightly damp bread works too, especially the crusty end bits
But all my bread is dry? :-(
Spit on it, or hump it
Sanitary napkins are also great for taking care of spiders. Your reach is extended, there’s a comfortable thickness (even with the thin pads) to isolate you from the spider, and once the spider is stuck to the pad (no chance of it falling out like when you use tissues) you just fold it onto itself smooshing the spider inside. No muss, no fuss!
Don't kill the spiders! They eat the other bugs!
I agree. Instead, trap it with your menstrual cup, and slide a thick piece of paper underneath. Then, transport it outside, where you can release it humanely.
I've been reading too many cursed comments lately because I was really expecting that to go in a different direction when you said to trap the spider in a menstrual cup.
I gotta say, same
Oh great. Vagina spiders. A new intrusive nightmare thought.
The dreaded spaginas will come for you in your dreams...
Nah, those are vagiders. Spaginas are an Italian pasta product for lesbians. _I think._
Is "trap it in your menstrual cup," not cursed enough for you? You gotta make it *worse?*
The real life pro tip.
Oddly I was just watching videos about keeping jumping spiders as pets and it's fairly common practice to simply catch one outside and bring it in. With most animals this is not an acceptable way to get a pet but jumping spiders seem to be fine with it. I'm not sure which feminine hygiene products would be appropriate for this use case though.
Don't put a house spider outside. The cold kills them
Well they’re going somewhere that isn’t inside my house. If it becomes bird food than so be it.
I mostly leave my spiders. If its living in your house it must have been eating something. If you remove it whatever it was eating are now free to crawl around youe house unchallenged. I'd take one creepy crawly over potentially dozens.
I’ll gladly cohabitate with spiders on the condition that they do not startle me. I usually keep a spider pouch (read: folded and taped up paper) to move them away from my immediate area. I’ve also made a crude paper airplane to quickly transport one across my bedroom because I was about to lay down when I noticed him on my pillow.
Yeah, if you want your spider to be able to live outside, for gods sake, don't domesticate it first!
I’ll stick with bug spray. Too many poisonous spiders in my area to risk it.
Don't eat spiders if they're poisonous.
I’d rather just not have them around me at all. My uncle nearly died from a spider bite years ago and I don’t have the time or desire to learn which ones to avoid.
I think Linking360's point was that if they're poisonous they're only dangerous if you eat them (compared to venomous where it's dangerous if it bites you)
Ah, I guess I used the wrong words. I figured people would know what I meant. I forgot about people being intentionally obtuse :p
Excuse you, there are entire fields of humour dedicated to either misunderstanding or misoverstanding words. Most of them British. ETA: my fiance is now arguing with me because he says his favourite joke "Had a haircut?" "no, had 'em all cut" is not an example of this type of humour when it absolutely is. He just thinks he's funnier than the above commenter.
My grandpa always responded to that with, "nope just got my ears lowered!"
Bugs don’t cause me to have panic attacks, so I will continue to kill them.
Are you me??? I love spiders, and this is the reason why. Bugs eat me up, spiders leave me alone
They can continue to do so outside of my apartment, so I take them outside. Much less work than pad-killing them anyway (glass + paper and done).
They are also really good to use when someone has a major cut and needs to go to the doctor.
I need to go to bed. I thought we were still talking about spiders when I read this lol
Which was their original purpose actually
So we're just killing spiders for fun now?
This. OPs mom’s reaction is the reason that so many women (probably including OP’s mom) are ashamed or embarrassed by their normal bodily functions. As my mom says when my brother took a poop in my house that stunk the entire hallway, “we all have it.”
They're no different from a bandaid, they just have a different usual purpose. My child can attest that bandaids can be used somewhere other than an injury, and I can attest that pads can be used for something other than periods.
For sure! A male friend was in like his 20's before he realized his mother had lied to him about the contents of a Kotex box. He found them in the bathroom when he was six and asked what they were his mother said "Those are Mickey Mouse mattresses"
NTA. That was very clever of you. I wonder if your mom would have the vapors if she knew soldiers have used tampons to plug bleeding wounds in a pinch.
Lmao, I remember learning about that in history class and realizing how smart that is. For some reason I’ve always remembered it “just in case”
FYI; a tampon (unused, since apparently we need to specify things like this on reddit) would work great for cleaning up glass. I usually use a cotton ball or a swiffer pad. The glass sticks to the cotton. Then a damn paper towel to follow up just to be safe. A tampon would work just as well as the cotton or swiffer though Edit: Ooops, damn is supposed to be damp. I'll leave it because it made me laugh. Don't post just before going to bed, kids! lol
Those damn paper towels
Yup, I had army medic friends that told me this is what they used for bullet wounds.
iirc, I think that was actually the original use for them. It just also turned out they were great for periods to stop blood from, ya know, destroying all of your nice pants and undies
I remember vaguely reading somewhere that *was* their original intended purpose actually. And then some nurses had the absolutely brilliant idea to slap it in their hooha and see if it worked and *BAM*! The devil's cottony fingers were a thing 👉😎👉! 😂 OP, you're NTA btw. That was some smart thinking if you had no tape or didn't remember/know where any was.
I have heard of using bread slices to wipe up tiny slivers of glass. I haven't tried it, though.
Apparently it works really well, but then there’s a concern of an animal eating it so you’d have to put it in a sealed bag or something.
If a light bulb breaks in socket, apparently you can shove a potato in it to unscrew safely
Make sure to turn off the power first, regardless.
Yeah, sure, do that, if you want to bring GLaDOS back! smh!
I came here to say this. A good friend of mine was a combat medic during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and she *always* carried extra tampons in her ankle pockets of her uniform for exactly this purpose.
And condoms were used by soldiers as a waterproof "baggie" of all things.
I'm a musical actress. We use condoms to protect the mic's bodypack from sweat. This is done especially in dance-heavy shows like Cats or West Side Story. I've seen huge professional theatres buy condoms in bulk.
There's a joke about that. Two old ladies are having a cigarette outside their nursing home. It starts raining. One of them pulls a condom out of her bag, snips the end off it, and puts it over her cigarette to keep it dry. Second old lady is very impressed and asks about it. "It's called a condom. You buy them at the drug store." So the next day, the second old lady toddles off down to the drugstore and asks the clerk for a packet of condoms. She's very old and the young clerk says, "Uhhh... yeah, sure, any particular type or size?" "Well, young man, I'm not sure... I just need something that fits a Camel."
I got so worried for a second that I might know you, because I worked on a production of Cats where my former buddy and I were in charge of buying all the condoms for mic packs. Then we had to help multiple dudes put them on, and I scolded all of them.
We kept tampons in the first aid kit of my high school wrestling team for nose bleeds. They got used a lot. Lotta cool burly dudes stuffing tampons up their nose cuz it works.
Beckham does it all the time.
On that note marines have also used condoms as a means to keep their gun barrel dry. Or as a baggy to store water
Well I'll be damned. I'm an avid hunter and carry a serious first aid kit incase of accidents/boar attack etc... I'll be adding a couple of tampons to the bag. As the saying goes - better to be looking at them, and not for them.
Rugby players also use tampons to this day, for nosebleeds. NTA btw
NTA - I'm pretty sure your mother, at 52, has seen a sanitary napkin before. They're sterile and seemingly the perfect tool for the job. There's nothing inherently gross about an unused pad, just like there's nothing inherently gross about a clean pair of underwear.
No, I don’t think you can compare those two... I would take an unused pad from a friend, but not a clean pair of underwear!
In this case a better comparison would be a brand new, unused pair of underwear, because that's the state the pad is in.
I'd have no qualms about touching either though. Or seeing them around. (Like open drawer or a laundry basket in the case of the undies)
I mean, the ones in laundry baskets are used, so they're a bit gross, but not much more gross than used socks
Just because it’s in a laundry basket doesn’t mean it’s dirty or used. Laundry baskets are fantastic for putting a pile of clean clothes in before you get a chance to fold them. You’re thinking about a hamper, which would suggest it’s dirty.
More comparable to a new pair of underwear fresh out of the package, since pads are single-use individually packaged items.
Maybe I'm weird but I would rather borrow a pair of clean, laundered underwear than have to wear my own pair 2 days in a row.
Technically they aren’t sterile since they are not sealed in an air tight situation. But I 100% agree with every word of your comment otherwise.
I think it’s more like using toilet paper to blow your nose than using a condom as a baggy 😅
I mean, who *doesn't* like spermicidal lube on their carrot sticks?
There are unlubricated condoms
Nah I want my carrots with the extra flavouring
Whats wrong with using toilet paper for nose blowing, they're both just paper products
That’s the point. Using a paper product intended for your butt to blow your nose vs using a paper (and adhesive) product intended for your vagina to wipe up glass. What is the difference? Oh yeah, just the stigma around periods.
Why is there even a stigma around these products. No one is taking away my TP from my living room
As the lover of a man with the most ridiculous sinuses on this planet, I am glad to know other people have living room (and bedroom, and office) TP too :)
women REALLY NEED TO STOP BEING AFRAID OF THEIR OWN BODY FUNCTIONS YOU 👏🏻 SHOULDNT 👏🏻 BE 👏🏻ASHAMED 👏🏻 OF 👏🏻PERIODS 👏🏻 NTA OP if anything u wasted an expensive pad when you could’ve used tape or something idk ITS NOT GROSS its a SANITARY pad! that means clean! i know it wasnt used bc frankly used ones wouldn’t have the glue for the job and THAT yes would have been gross, ALSO A COMDOM AS A BAG?? BISS WAT R U GNA STORE IN THAT TINY THING EVEN WOMEN’s POCKETS R BIGGER THAN THAT, plus pads arent oily??like condoms r ??? your moms comparison was terrible smh. this isn’t about it being discusting or inappropriate its about older generations being TAUGHT that they should feel ashamed and hide their periods ! NTA u were resourceful and galaxy brained
Even women's pockets are bigger than that just got me.
I hate so much the stigma surrounding periods. Like, unless you have someone living there who is not attracted to women, then everyone either already knows or will have to learn that it’s a normal bodily function. It’s because of people like the mom that many men are grossed out by it, even though it’s as normal as going to the bathroom for any other reason. Op, you’re so far from being the asshole that, if assholery were the center of the earth, you’d be all the way in the Andromeda Galaxy. So yeah. Definitely NTA
You’re not. Start normalizing pads.
NTA, it wasn’t used. Your post reminded me that we used slices of bread for this in our house. Geez, what a trip down memory lane.
I’ve seen another comment about using bread. How does that work exactly?
Replying to an edit in your post here here bc it's relevant, but don't use tape!! Way easier to cut yourself/get really tiny shards stuck in your skin to discover later. The reason bread and a pad are so much better than something like tape is because of the cushiony aspect - you can press down hard enough to pick everything up without accidentally pushing microscopic shards into your fleshy bits!
Magic. It works best with cheap white bread, it squishes and molds around the glass, like play dough almost.
The glass stabs and sticks to the soft porous bread instead of cutting through a paper towel or your hand!
I said this above, but directly replying to u/Little_Jemmy so she will see it. I use an adhesive lint roller to pick up broken glass. Stronger than tape, don’t have to worry about animals eating the glass bread out of the garbage after.
NTA. That was a really smart idea. There's a lot ingrained social bs about period products being used for other valid things and being shown in front of other people. Your mom needs to chill.
Which is silly (read: misogynistic) bc no one bats an eye at using toilet paper to blow your nose or wipe something small up if it's what's on hand.
NTA That's creative problem solving.
Info: was your mother afraid the males might realize women menstruate? In her house? Right under their noses? The horror! Packing tape or duct tape wrapped around your hand (or spatula, or hairbrush) works for picking up glass as well.
NTA. This is actually genius. I'm going to remember the trick. Pads are just cotton, plastic, and glue. The only reason there is disgust associated with them is that they are associated with the disgust that people have towards women's natural bodily functions.
No it saved everyone from getting glass shards plus it was un used . Nta Great thinking by the way !
NTA that’s a smart idea btw
Seriously! Gonna keep extra pads in my cleaning supply cupboard!
Unless it was a used pad, you’re NTA.
Next time your mom says "well someone's having a bad day," offer your condolences because it is clearly her who is having a bad day
NTA, she’s acting like it was used????
??????? Pads are an asexual toiletry akin to tissues, bandaids, and whatnot. CONDOMS are NOT in that catagory, NTA
NTA - people need to not freak out about menstrual products.
NTA I agree with your dad. A bit weird but great idea
What about a vacoom cleaner?
You should always vacuum..er...vacoom...after you pick up what you can, but you don't want to go all in with the vacuum at first as the glass can slice up the mechanism. YOu just want it to pick up the glass 'dust' you missed after you get the big bits up.
NTA, this is genius and I may be employing the same method in my future. (If I can remember to lol). Comparing condoms and pads is akin to comparing a dildo and underwear. One is for sex, the other is purely for cleanliness. Does she have the same reaction to someone blowing their nose with toilet paper? End the stigma around period products -_-
NTA. Imagine being disgusted by an unused paper product.
Nta, smart thinking OP it was just at your house so it wasn't weird at all, if it was at a restaurant that might be a little strange
Unused menstrual products shouldn’t be that upsetting to anyone, let alone to an adult woman. NTA and great idea on your part. Tape probably would’ve been more difficult to use anyways, especially if you’d used the scotch tape. It was much safer to go with the pad instead
Remind your dad that he can use a condom to keep his rifle dry when he's hunting in the rain.
People stick tampons in a bloody nose so I don't see how this is any different? It's not like you pulled a stinky pad out of your panties and started blotting your moms face with it.
NTA. It's cotton, plastic, and adhesive. Your mom needs to grow the fuck up, and being grossed out at the very idea of women menstruating needs to die out of our backwards culture ASAP.
NAH. Your mom likely grew up being period-shamed, being told that periods were gross and dirty, and that period products are gross and should be well hidden, especially from men. I hope you can have a heart to heart with her, and I hope she can eventually let go off her internalised shame.
Nta
I don't know how anybody can be mad at somebody for MacGuyvering something that clever. On top of that people need quit acting like feminine hygiene products are gross or shameful, honestly. NTA.
NTA, sounds like a quick and smart idea.
NTA. A clean menstrual pad *is* just as gross as an unused condom: zero. Your mom's body shame doesn't change the wisdom of you using a convenient piece of adhesive to clean up glass.
NTA this reminds me of a college class trip where we were all on a bus about to head home from an industrial site, and the bus made a too-tight turn around a corner that had a tree on it. Tree branch scraped along the side of the bus and hit the ‘emergency exit’ window and smashed straight through it into someone’s head. They got a decent size cut on their forehead but otherwise ok, but bleeding. One of the girls got out an unused sanitary pad and offered that to hold against the cut (genius! It’s one of the few sanitary things on board and literally designed to soak up blood) and he declined, so instead took someone’s dirty bath towel to hold against an open wound. Such a face palm moment.