How Do I Use It?

Using The Moon Cup

Inserting The Moon Cup

  1. After washing your hands and cup, simply fold your Moon Cup by pressing the sides of the lightweight, flexible cup together (Illus. 1).
  2. Then, fold the cup in half again (Illus. 2).
  3. Now, hold the folded Moon Cup between your thumb and index finger, as shown in Illus. 2.
  4. To insert, sit on the toilet (or in a similarly relaxed position) and insert your folded Moon Cup completely into the vagina. Let the cup unfold by releasing your fingers.
  5. After inserting, gently rotate it with your fingertips, before gently pulling it down and forward into position at your vaginal opening. Gently pull on the stem and you should feel that your Moon Cup is firmly in place.
  6. As you can see in Illus. 3, the Moon Cup follows the natural slant of your vagina. It doesn’t touch the cervix; instead resting comfortably below it. Be sure the stem is at the entrance to the vagina, and completely outside of your body.

Tip: Find a comfortable position that will allow you to easily insert your cup. That may be sitting on the toilet, putting one leg up on the edge of the bathtub, or squatting.

Removing The Moon Cup

  1. Sit on the toilet and grasp the stem firmly so that the tips of your fingers pinch the base of the cup. This action allows air to enter around the cup, releasing the suction, and making it easy to remove.
  2. Ease your Moon Cup gently forward and downward, supporting the bottom of the cup with your fingertips to prevent spilling.
  3. Empty the contents of the cup into the toilet.
  4. If you are still having your period and want to reinsert your Moon Cup, simply rinse it or wipe it with a tissue and reinsert.
  5. At the end of your period, clean the Moon Cup as instructed below.

How Often Should I Empty My Moon Cup?
Your Moon Cup holds one full ounce of menstrual fluid. Most women produce only 2 to 4 ounces during their entire periods. So, emptying the cup a few times each day is usually more than sufficient. In a month or two, you will become familiar with your own menstrual flow pattern, and will know when to empty it.  Every 8 to 12 hours is typical; more frequently when experiencing a heavy menstrual flow.

Cleaning The Moon Cup
Our Two Favorite Options

  1. Rinse (not soak) for a few minutes in warm, mild soapy water.
  2. Rinse in a dilute vinegar solution (one parts vinegar to nine parts water).

These two methods are just as effective as using high temperature water or harsh chemical cleaners, BUT without harming the integrity of the high quality material used to make our cups.

Cleaning Tips

  • NEVER soak your Moon Cup in any cleaning solution. You always want the cleaning solution to be running out of and off of the cup.
  • Rinse your Moon Cup in vinegar solution for no more than 3 minutes.
  • DO NOT rinse your Keeper or Moon Cup in any solution stronger than 1 parts vinegar to 9 parts water OR in any other chemical solution. Exposing the Moon Cup to harsh cleaning solutions can result in damage to it.
  • Let your Moon Cup air dry.
  • Place your Moon Cup in the convenient cotton fabric bag it came in to store it safely between periods and prevent it from collecting dust or dirt.
  • DO NOT store your cup in an airtight container.

It is a well known fact that vinegar is, indeed, a sanitizing agent—just as effective as the harsher methods of cleaning and sanitizing, so there is no reason to use harsher methods to achieve the same result. There is no need to spend more money or produce more waste from plastic containers buying a “special” cleaner for your cup. Our planet does not need more waste!

No Need to Boil
Many women familiar with other silicone products assume that the Moon Cup can be treated similarly, and boiled after use. However, consistent exposure to hot water, whether in your sink or in your dishwasher, will reduce the usable life of your Moon Cup.

Customers who have not boiled or used harsh cleaning chemicals on our cups have reported their cups lasting up to five, seven, ten—even fifteen years! On the other hand, women who boil their cups, or use harsh chemicals to clean them, often reorder within a much shorter time. Although we are grateful for our customers and would certainly benefit from frequent re-orders, that is NOT our style, and there are other important reasons we vote for prolonging the usable life of our cups!

“But CAN I Boil My Cup If I Want?”
Of course, if you want to.  While our cups can be boiled, this is not recommended.

We use the highest quality medical grade silicone available and the producers of this material highly recommend NOT using high temperatures or harsh cleaning chemicals for sterilization. For the use a Moon Cup will be put to, it is unnecessary (unlike with surgical tools or other medical silicone devices) and will quickly degrade and weaken ANY material, thus reducing the number of years it will last.

About Discoloration
This natural discoloration is a sign that you are giving your cup a long and happy life.  A discolored cup is still clean and very usable; there is nothing to worry about, and discoloration is NOT a sign that a cup needs to be cleaned with harsher chemical cleaning agents.

Discoloration is natural and will vary in degree depending upon the user’s body chemistry, medications she might be taking, and the water conditions in her geographical area, all of which might also play a role in lowering the life expectancy of any cup. Some women will experience various amounts of discoloration, while others will not experience any discoloration.

I Have Other Concerns or Questions
First, be sure to check out all the great information under our Learning tab:

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Video Tutorials – COMING SOON

Myths and Common Objections

If those don’t answer your question, then we’d be happy to help you!  We are sometimes available for live text chat—look for the red tab at the bottom your screen.  Or, just Contact Us via phone or e-mail!