Taking good care of your vibrators and sex toys is essential if you want them to keep bringing you good vibes year after year. The problem is that many people fall into poor habits which can not only be detrimental to your sex toys but can also have an impact on your health. Learning how to clean a vibrator properly should be essential for any sex toy owner. Read on for our essential sex toy care guide, including cleaning and storing your favourite toys.
While this blog is intended to give you some more general advice about how to care for your toys, this doesn’t replace the individual care instructions that come with each individual toy or device. Some will have very specific advice for how to care for them and it’s important that you observe this advice to prolong the life of your toys. We’ll start our guide off with something simple that many people get wrong…
Most vibrators are made from silicone and must be cared for carefully to prevent the silicone from breaking down. As a general rule, you should never use the following to clean your silicone toys:
All of these will contain chemicals and oils which can cause the outer layer of your toys to break down over time. If this happens, the toys can become a breeding ground for bacteria that you really don’t want to put anywhere near your nether regions.
Improper cleaning technique can also lead to the spread of STIs if you’re in the habit of sharing toys. The best and easiest way to clean a vibrator is to use a specialist toy cleaner such as this 4 in 1 cleanser from Adam and Eve. This is the safest option which is unlikely to damage most vibrators and dildos.
There are some other options you can try depending on the material. Sex toy materials can be made out of porous or non-porous materials.
Porous materials are things like Cyberskin, hard plastic or jelly rubber. For accessories and clothing, this includes things like neoprene, leather and nylon. These are more likely to absorb bacteria and are more difficult to clean.
Non-porous materials are things like glass, silicone, Pyrex or stainless steel. The surface of these types of toys are impenetrable by bacteria, so they are easier to clean and also suitable for sharing – provided you keep everything clean.
Porous materials are more sensitive to heat so the safest way to clean them is with soap and warm water. Don’t worry about reaching for the anti-bacterial soap as this can leave a residue that can cause discolouration over time. A specialist soap would be ideal.
To clean your non-porous toys, you have a few options. Silicone and Pyrex toys can be put in the top shelf of your dishwasher – provided you don’t have nosy housemates or young kids who might find it before you do! Glass and stainless steel toys should be cleaned in hot soapy water and rinsed thoroughly before being stored. Glass toys can warp in extreme temperatures so they cannot be boiled, but stainless steel is fine in hot water.
Cleaning your toys after every use is the best way to prolong their life, but you should also consider washing them before every use, too. You never know what might be stuck to them as you pull them out of their storage place, so it’s always best to give them a clean before you get down and dirty.
There’s not much point in spending time washing your toys nicely if you’re just going to toss them in your bedside table to collect lint and food crumbs. All toys should be stored in their own individual cases to prevent the materials coming into contact with each other.
If you don’t think you’ll be using your toys for a while, it’s best to remove the batteries from any battery-powered toys. This will ensure that the batteries don’t leak or corrode inside the toy and leave you disappointed the next time you come to use it.
After cleaning your toys, be sure to check there aren’t any faults before plugging them in, putting the batteries back in or turning them on. Unfortunately, toys don’t last forever, so if you notice your toy making a louder noise than usual it might be time to retire it for safety reasons. Fear not, though, as this means you get to go shopping for an exciting new toy!
