If you’re anything like us, you’ve always you’ve got an abundance of shiny new goodies coming your way, so we thought we’d give you the top tips and tricks for sex toy care!
Keep reading to learn how to preserve the life of your bedside helpers and look after your sexual health at the same time. Plus, get the low down on throwing away your old sex toys…
We all like to get dirty, but it’s also very important to get clean too! Keeping your sex toys in good condition is integral to getting the most out of them and looking after your sexual health. We’ve put together this guide for stellar sex toy care to make it as easy as possible for you to make it a part of your routine.
Toy Care Products for Your Collection
Cleaning Your Sex Toys
First and most importantly, you should always clean your sex toys. It extends their lifetime so you can keep enjoying them, but it also protects your intimate areas from nasty bacterial build-up. We suggest you clean your toy collection after you use them, at the very least, if not beforehand too. Let us tell you about some of the options on offer.
Basic cleaning is as simple as rinsing your toys with warm water and lathering with some mild, antibacterial soap. However, depending on your sex toy (we’ll get into this further down), that isn’t always an option. If using water in your care process is a no-go, we suggest sex toy cleaner. Bondara’s Wet N’ Wild Antibacterial Toy Cleaner is alcohol-free and super easy to use. Just spritz your toys with a few pumps and let them sit for a couple of minutes before wiping them with a clean cloth.
If you want to be extra reassured with how sanitary your sex toys are, then have a look at the UV Sanitising Pouch. Recommended by @Disabled_Eliza in our Sex & Disability article, this handy bit of sex tech is great for users with limited mobility. Just give your toys a rinse beforehand, pat dry, and then pop them in for the quick 5-minute sterilisation process that kills off 99.99% of bacteria.
Storing Your Sex Toys
Once you’ve cleaned everything, storage is the next step in keeping your sex toys and accessories in tip-top condition for future use. If you’re looking for discreet but stylish storage, Bondara’s Faux Leather Bondage and Sex Toy Bag is a perfect option. It has plenty of room to store all your favourite toys and bondage bits, plus if anyone stumbles across it, who’s to say it’s not a wash bag! Bondara also sells a variety of satin and mesh storage bags so you can keep your toys separate and safe in your collection.
(Psst… While we love our storage bags, if you really don’t want to advertise your sex toys to any nosy parkers, you can also put them in a sock).
We’ve got quite a collection, so sometimes we need to have a bit of a clearout! If you’re looking to throw away some of your old sex toys and you’re not sure what to do, double-check using RecycleNow to see where you can dispose of specific materials and electrical or battery-operated items.
Scrub-A-Dub-Dub: Top Tips for Your Toys
Vibrating Toy Care and Cleaning
The first thing you need to do when cleaning your vibes is check that it’s waterproof. But there is a difference between splashproof and waterproof! Splashproof simply means you can wipe it down with a damp cloth, and it shouldn’t harm your toy but don’t go dunking it in the bath! If it’s waterproof, then you can submerge your vibrator when you clean it without fear of water doing any damage. You can check this on the specifications of our toys online.
Waterproof toys should be lathered with mild antibacterial soap and rinsed in warm water to remove anything leftover from play and kill off nasties that could harm your sexual health. Non-waterproof vibrators can be wiped down with a damp cloth and antibacterial soap or sprayed with a toy cleaner to keep them fresh without causing water damage.
Depending on the design of your vibe, it may have lots of little nooks and crannies that pick up debris. Use a toothbrush (NOT one you’ve used to clean your teeth!) to get into all those hard-to-reach places and really make sure your sex toys are clean. Also, regardless of whether your toy is waterproof, ensure it’s dry before putting it away!
Silicone Sex Toy Care
Silicone sex toys are non-porous, so the cleaning methods we’ve detailed above will work perfectly here too. However, because it’s a non-porous material, you can boil them or throw them in the dishwasher! Just make sure they don’t have a motorised or electrical component before you pop them on a boil wash…
If you’re taken with this idea of stacking all your toys in the dishwasher, we will say don’t use dish soap in the cleaning process because it can leave behind residue you don’t want on your sex toys, and you should keep them on the top rack. Not only will this stop them from flying all around the machine, but it’s slightly cooler, so there’s no fear of it softening any silicone.
Editor’s Note: Sex toys made from porous materials, such as jelly or wood, can hold bacteria even after they’ve been cleaned. We recommend you keep these for solo use or use with a condom. For extra safety, you can store them individually (think plastic baggy for liquids at the airport) to greatly reduce any risk of transfer.
Masturbator Care and Cleaning
Cleaning care for masturbators varies slightly depending on their design, but we’re going to give you the low down on how to clean these stimulating pleasure tunnels.
Firstly remove the sleeve from its hard casing if it sits into one. Once you’ve done this, stretch it open, turn it inside out, lather it with mild soap or toy cleaner and give it a good rinse. Pat away any excess moisture and let it air dry completely. Some toys will come with packaging that facilitates drying, like the TENGA Aero. Once your sex toys are dry, use a sprinkle of renewing powder (like the Fleshlight Renewing Powder or the MALE Real Feel Powder) inside and outside the sleeve to keep it soft, supple and in the best condition.
Now you’ve got no excuse but to keep your sex toys clean! So, have a spring clean, and make sure your collection is shiny and sparkling. Let us know what other guides you’d like to see in the comments below.
