60x90cm vs 30x36 Underpads: Pads per Pack and Cost per Pad

Quick Summary: Written for Canadian long-term care homes, home-care agencies and clinic buyers. The two labels describe almost the same pad — 60 x 90 cm is 23.6 x 35.4 inches, and 30 x 36 inches is 76 x 91 cm — so size alone rarely settles the choice. What changes the cost per resident-day is pack count, absorbency construction and how the pads are stored. This comparison shows the arithmetic and the questions to ask before a case is ordered.

The two formats, measured

Canadian buyers see both naming conventions on the same shelf, because manufacturers label to the market they originally designed for. European-line products are labelled in centimetres; North American-line products are labelled in inches. Converting both to a single unit removes most of the confusion.

The difference is small: the 30 x 36 inch pad is roughly 5 cm shorter in one direction and about 1 cm wider than a 60 x 90 cm pad, depending on how the manufacturer trims the edges. In practice the two pads are interchangeable on most standard care beds. That is an important conclusion for buyers, because it means the sizing decision is usually a pack-count and construction decision in disguise.

Where format does matter is on the extremes. A 60 x 90 cm pad covers a mattress centre but can leave the head or foot edge exposed on a longer bed, so pads get shifted and doubled. A 30 x 36 inch pad drapes further along the bed. Materials handling also differs: a folded 5-layer pad with a superabsorbent polymer core, delivered in vacuum-compressed packs, occupies a fraction of the shelf space of a bulk carton of fluff-core pads of similar footprint.

Pack count is where the price difference lives

A pack price without a pack count tells a buyer nothing. The only comparable number is cost per pad, and to convert it to cost per resident-day you also need the change frequency your care plan specifies.

Two things fall out of that table. First, the 60 x 90 cm five-layer format is the lowest published cost per pad among the formats whose pack count is stated, at $0.48 per pad in the ten-box case rate, even though it carries the heavier five-layer SAP construction. Second, the biodegradable 30 x 36 inch format runs at $0.80 per pad, about two thirds more than the 60 x 90 cm case rate, so the sustainability decision has a price attached to it that should be stated plainly in a budget submission.

The arithmetic that matters for a home is annual, not per pack. Take a 120-bed home where 40 residents use two pads per day between scheduled changes: 40 residents x 2 pads x 365 days is 29,200 pads a year. At the ten-box case rate of $0.48 per pad that is $14,016; at the biodegradable rate of $0.80 per pad the same volume is $23,360 — a difference of $9,344 for the same number of pad changes. Buyers who negotiate on pack price alone never see that number.

Construction: what the two formats actually contain

Footprint is only one axis. Two pads of identical size can behave completely differently because of what sits inside them.

A five-layer pad with a SAP core holds fluid in a polymer matrix rather than in pulp alone, which is why a lighter, thinner pad can carry the same load as a bulkier fluff pad. That has a direct operational consequence: thinner pads stack more per shelf, more per trolley and more per delivery, which reduces the storage footprint in a home where linen room space is already committed.

Absorbency claims printed on a carton should be read as a design intent, not a laboratory result. Standardised absorbent-product testing compares capacity under defined conditions, and independent evaluations of commercial incontinence products consistently find that measured capacity differs from the headline number, and that performance varies between products within the same nominal class. The practical response is to evaluate a pad against your own heaviest-use resident rather than against a carton.

Skin health: why the pad is a clinical choice

Underpads sit against skin for hours. Reviews of incontinence-associated dermatitis identify prolonged skin contact with moisture, occlusion and friction as the main drivers, and recommend that the absorbent product and the change interval be selected together rather than separately. A Cochrane review of absorbent products for moderate to heavy incontinence found no single design that suits every user, which supports trialling more than one format on the highest-need residents instead of standardising across an entire home.

Ontario long-term care homes operate under a provincial regulation that sets out requirements for resident care and hygiene, and homes are expected to be able to show how continence care is planned and recorded. In that context, cost per pad is only half the calculation: a pad that requires more frequent changes because fluid sits at the surface costs staff time in addition to product cost, and staff time is the larger line item in most continence programs.

Wounds Canada publishes clinical practice recommendations for skin and wound care that treat moisture-associated skin damage as a preventable event, with product selection and change frequency treated as the controllable variables. That framing is useful in a procurement document, because it justifies paying a slightly higher cost per pad where the product demonstrably reduces changes per shift.

Storage, handling and the sustainability trade-off

Vacuum-compressed formats exist because storage is a real constraint in older homes with small linen rooms. A case of compressed pads takes a fraction of the volume of an equivalent case of loose fluff pads, which reduces how often inventory has to be moved and how much shelf space has to be reserved. Staff handling is also reduced: fewer trips, fewer partially opened cases, less damaged product.

On the sustainability side, biodegradable formats using plant-based materials give homes a defensible answer to procurement questions about single-use plastics, provided the compostability claim is investigated properly. Plant-based polymers need specific conditions to break down, and a pad sent to general waste behaves much like a conventional pad. Homes that adopt a biodegradable line for residents whose families request it, while keeping a standard line for heavy-use residents, generally find the cost impact easier to control than a blanket switch.

How to specify underpads in a tender or purchase order

1. State the footprint in both units. Writing 60 x 90 cm (23.6 x 35.4 in) prevents a supplier from substituting a pad that is nominally the same size but trimmed differently.
2. State pads per pack and packs per case, not just case price. Cost per pad is the only figure that compares cleanly across formats.
3. State the absorbency need by resident group. Light, moderate and heavy users rarely need the same construction, and mixing them wastes capacity.
4. Ask for the change-frequency assumption. A tender that asks suppliers to state expected changes per resident-day makes the hidden staff-time cost visible.
5. Require a sample evaluation on the heaviest-use residents. Independent evaluations show measured performance varies between products in the same nominal class, so a carton claim is not evidence.

Homes that standardise on one format usually find the cost is easier to control than the catalogue suggests. The 60 x 90 cm five-layer underpad with a SAP core is sold by the ten-box case at CA $239.99 for 500 pads, which is CA $0.48 per pad. Where families or residents request a plant-based option, the PLA biodegradable absorbent pads in a 50-pack run at CA $0.80 per pad, and the 30 x 36 inch heavy absorbency pads remain the standard-core format for daytime use. Homes that run spore testing or other monitoring programs alongside their continence program can also request a biological indicator 5-pack trial (CA $12.99, shipping included) to compare monitoring workflow and record-keeping side by side.

References

1. Absorbent products for moderate to heavy urinary and/or faecal incontinence (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2008)
2. Incontinence-associated dermatitis in older adults: risk factors, prevention and treatment (Drugs and Aging, 2025)
3. Comparison of two skin protection regimes for prevention of incontinence-associated dermatitis (BMJ Open, 2022)
4. Factors underlying choice and change of absorbent incontinence products in women (Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2026)
5. Morphological and performance assessment of commercial absorbent products (Polymers, 2026)
6. A method to assess the usability of body-worn absorbent incontinence products (Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, 2018)
7. Incontinence-associated dermatitis: a position paper (Der Hautarzt, 2020)
8. Wounds Canada — clinical practice recommendations for skin and wound care
9. Ontario Regulation 246/22 — long-term care home requirements
10. Public Health Ontario — environmental cleaning for prevention and control of infections
11. Public Health Ontario — infection prevention and control resources
12. World Health Organization — infection prevention and control

Related Reading

• Long-term care and clinical product learning hub
• Underpad width and length: comparing 60x90cm vs 30x36 formats
• Disposable underpads buying guide for Canadian LTC homes: 60x90cm with SAP
• Bulk underpad procurement: cost and quality analysis
• Incontinence management in long-term care: choosing the right underpad
• Long-term care supplies collection
• long-term care supplies

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 60x90cm the same as 30x36 inches?

Almost. 60 x 90 cm converts to about 23.6 x 35.4 inches, while a pad labelled 30 x 36 inches measures about 76 x 91 cm. The two are close enough to be interchangeable on most standard care beds, which is why pack count and absorbency construction usually decide the purchase rather than the size label.

How do I work out the cost per pad?

Divide the pack price by the number of pads in the pack, then divide again by the number of packs in a case where case pricing is offered. A ten-box case at $239.99 holding 500 pads works out to $0.48 per pad, and a PLA 50-pack case at $39.99 works out to $0.80 per pad. Where a listing does not state pads per pack, confirm the count with the supplier before comparing.

How many underpads does a long-term care home use in a year?

Multiply the number of residents using pads by the number of changes per day, then by 365. Forty residents with two changes a day is 29,200 pads a year, which is why the difference between $0.48 and $0.80 per pad is worth several thousand dollars annually.

Does a heavier underpad always mean better protection?

No. Absorbency depends on the core construction, particularly whether a superabsorbent polymer is used and how fluid is distributed under body weight. Independent evaluations of commercial absorbent products show measured capacity varies between products in the same nominal class, so trial evaluation on your heaviest-use residents is more reliable than a carton claim.

Are biodegradable underpads worth the higher cost per pad?

They give homes a defensible answer on single-use plastics, at a cost per pad that is typically higher than a standard SAP format. Many homes adopt them selectively — for residents or families who request them — rather than switching every bed, which keeps the budget impact predictable.

How often should an underpad be changed?

Change frequency should be set in the care plan alongside the absorbent product. Reviews of incontinence-associated dermatitis identify prolonged moisture contact and friction as the main drivers of skin breakdown, so the pad and the interval need to be chosen together rather than separately.

Do underpads need special storage?

Keep them dry and off the floor. Vacuum-compressed formats take up considerably less shelf space than loose fluff pads of the same footprint, which matters in homes with limited linen-room storage and reduces handling damage.

What should a purchase order specify for underpads?

Footprint in both metric and imperial units, pads per pack and packs per case, the absorbency group each line is intended for, expected changes per resident-day, and a sample evaluation requirement. Case price alone is not a comparable specification.

Last updated: September 2026. CliniEco Medical holds MDEL #35334 issued by Health Canada, and supplies clinics, long-term care homes and home-care programs across Canada.

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