Sex Toys: Care and Cleaning

After you’ve recovered from post-coital bliss, what’s the first thing you do?

Get washed up, right? Do you clean your sex toys, too?

Just like your real-live partner, hygiene is important in ensuring safe sex with your sex toy.  Plus, cleanliness will help keep your sex toy in working order for a longer time.

First of all, get to know B.O.B.,  your Battery (or otherwise) Operated Boyfriend. Get to know what it’s made of. This will be a big help in determining how to take care of it.

Stainless steel, Pyrex and glass toys have the most cleaning options. You can give them a good scrubbing with sex toy cleaner or fragrance-free anti-bacterial soap. You can even boil them in water or put them in the dishwasher. Pat them dry with a towel or let them air dry before storing them. Zipper-lock bags help ensure that they (and all sex toys) remain clean between uses.

Silicone toys can easily be cleaned with a sex toy cleaner or anti-bacterial soap. Some say that you can boil silicone toys, but others argue that boiling can deteriorate silicone. It’s best to stick with a hand wash.

Jelly, soft vinyl, rubber, latex and hard plastic toys need an extra good scrubbing with a sex toy cleaner or anti-bacterial soap. Since they’re made of porous materials, make extra sure that you rinse thoroughly. Soap residue can deteriorate these materials and could cause irritation to mucous membranes.

The same cleaning routine goes for cyberskin toys, which are also porous. Some people recommend giving them a light dusting of corn starch after they’re dry to keep them from getting sticky.

Using a condom on a sex toy, especially if it’s made of a porous material or if it’s an anal toy, will help keep it clean and last for a longer time.

The type of lube you use is another consideration in cleaning your sex toy. Water-based lubes wash off easily in water, but silicone lubes, since they’re made to last, will require an extra scrubbing. Oil-based lubes aren’t recommended for sex toys. Plus, they’re a bugger to wash away.

Be sure to take the batteries out of your sex toys before giving them a scrubbing or a soak. Leave them out of your sex toy until you’re ready to use it again to get the most out of your battery life.

If you have any tears or cracks in your sex toys, throw them out. You never know what kinds of bacteria can breed in them. Plus, you don’t want to risk any tearing or abrasions of your skin and tissue.

Also, don’t forget to give your sex toy a quick wash before you get busy with it!