How To Clean Sex Toys – Sex Toy Cleaners

Learn How To Clean Sex Toys To Keep Your Adult Pleasure Products Safe To Use With Sex Toy Cleaners.

Thanks to advances in manufacturing, dildos, vibrators, butt plugs and masturbators are all made using a wide variety of different materials. Where ever possible try to buy quality over price and look for products made using non porous materials such as glass, stainless steel and medical grade pure Silicone. These products are less likely to trap harmful bacteria, are easier to clean and will last longer too.
Some couples use condoms on cheap Adult Toys made from porous materials such as Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) or Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) and there is nothing wrong with placing condoms on non-porous products too, just make sure the condom is non-lubricated or uses a water based lubricant if you’ll be placing it over any toy made with a component comprising Silicone. Many brands of condoms include a very cheap Silicone lube on them to help things slide along better, but will eat away at your sex toy’s Silicone parts.

As you read on, you’ll learn how to clean sex toys made of different materials effectively and discover why using antibacterial sex toy cleaners is a must to help protect your sexual health and increase the longevity of your favourite pleasure toys.

Before You Play With A Sex Toy

Take a moment to visually inspect your toy. Ensure there’s no cracks that could injure delicate tissue or harbor bacteria. If it’s battery powered, place new batteries in (never store with removeable batteries inside) and if it’s USB rechargeable turn it on to make sure you have plenty of power to last your session. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through, or close to an orgasm to have your favourite vibrator run out of juice, which is why it’s always good practice to charge it up fully after use and before storing away.
Make sure there’s no visible stains, dust or hair (storing in a dust free storage case or bag is best). If you do find scratches or stains, I would recommend that you get rid of that sex toy.

For products made with non-porous materials, apply one of the purpose made antibacterial sex toy cleaners you have. They really aren’t that expensive compared to what your vibe or dildo cost and a little does go a long way. Yes we know this is going to be taken by some people as self-serving, we’re just trying to get you to spend more money with us right, but even if you don’t buy one from Adult Sex Toy Wholesalers, pay more and buy one from somewhere else!

Cleaning Sex Toys Made With High Or Medical Grade Silicone

Pure Silicone can be fully sanitised and is non-porous. In fact technically Silicone is microporous, which means it can hang on to odours.
After using sex toys made with Silicone, it’s a good idea to clean them first with hot, soapy water, making sure you’re aware how waterproof they are. Overseas countries don’t have the same rating levels that we do in Australia, so make sure if you want to drown or submerse your toy in water it is rated to IPX-7.
After that you can reapply your sex toy cleaner and allow to air dry. There are purpose made PlayTray coasters you can buy online that are ideal for allowing your pleasure products to dry before placing them away.
Some people say you can towel dry your products, while true the cleanliness of the towel is always suspect, so leaving your adult toys to dry naturally is recommended.

Many vibrators have a Silicone shaft and handle made with ABS Plastic. Often too there are decorative bands where the 2 materials meet. If this is the case, make sure that the grooves between the materials are cleaned thoroughly. An old toothbrush is good for that.
This is really what’s required to keep your Silicone sex toys clean and free from bacteria, but if you do want to go that extra mile and you share your sex toys as lesbians do, then you can always place your dildos and the Silicone component of your vibrator in boiling water.

As we mentioned earlier, Silicone is microporous, so in the case of anal sex toys made with Silicone such as butt plugs, dipping in boiling water is a good idea before applying one of the antibacterial sex toy cleaners that will leave it with a clean linen smell.

A word of caution: terms such as TPR-Silicone, Silicone-Elastomer Blend, Cyber-Silicone, Sil-A-Gel are meant to confuse and bring about a false sense of security by making you think the sex toys are made with quality Silicone, when in fact they’re not. The terms are not actually materials, they’re additives or names made up to make you think you’re buying a quality product at a cheap price when they’re made from porous PVC. Sil-A-Gel from Doc Johnson is supposed to act like an anti-microbial substance. The accuracy of that statement has, of course, never been proved by a lab so proceed with caution. It does not imply “silicone” and Doc Johnson will outright say that, but unknowing consumers can see “Sil” and jump to the “silicone” conclusion.

To keep your Silicone products in good condition, always use quality water based lubricants and never use a personal lube that contains Silicone. If you do, you’ll find your product will become sticky to touch, as the lube eats away your precious toy.
For the best experience, look for water based personal lubricants that are thick, more gel like as they’ll last longer and provide a better glide.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From Glass

Many dildos and butt plugs are made from borosilicate glass, which is great for temperature play as they’ll hold their temperature for some time. Bearing this in mind, be careful when cleaning with hot water.
As glass sex toys are non-porous, cleaning with warm soapy water before spraying with one of the sex toy cleaners you have will be fine.
Always check your product is free from cracks as these can harbor bacteria and also cause vaginal or anal bleeding. If you do find your glass dildo or anal toy damaged, I’d recommend you throw it away immediately and look online for a replacement. To be on the safe side too, don’t place glass sex toys in boiling water, unless you’re sure they can handle that temperature.

With regards to using a personal lube, you’re safe to use water based or Silicone lubricants, which also means therefore you can use Hybrid lubes.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From Steel

Although generally more expensive, there is high demand for Adult pleasure products made from polished stainless steel. If looked after and you’re careful not to use abrasive steel wool pads to clean them, your steel sex toys will last a lifetime. Again being non-porous, clean with warm, soapy water first before finishing off with any of the sex toy cleaners you can buy online.
Some people run boiling hot water from a kettle over their products in a sink, which is fine, but like glass only worse, the steel will become extremely hot, so be careful.

Note too: There are many Adult products in the market promoted as being made from stainless steel, but are in fact just coated with a very thin layer of cheap grade stainless steel while the rest is copper. Price is a good indicator as to its bona fids.

All personal lubricants are fine to use with products made from stainless steel.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From Hard ABS Plastic

One of the most common materials used in the making of Adult pleasure products, especially the handle and trim is plastic because it’s cheap, light and can be moulded easily to shape. ABS is non-toxic and non-porous. Often too you’ll see the term PU (polyurethane) coated used.
To clean, don’t use boiling water, warm, soapy water is fine though before using an antibacterial sex toy cleaner.

Some sex toys made from ABS have a metallic paint coating. This will scratch off over time and extra care should be given when rubbing during cleaning. Avoid any cleaner made with alcohol as this will probably take off the paint faster than normal use will.

As far as lubricants go, any quality personal lube will be fine to use. Often only the handle part of the vibrator is made with ABS, while the shaft or head part of the vibrator is made with Silicone. If this is the case with yours, make sure you only use water based personal lubricants.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From TPR/TPE/Elastomer

Although Thermoplastics have been proven to be phthalates-free and non-toxic, they are porous. All thermoplastics once started out as a hard plastic, and have to be softened. Many thermoplastics use mineral oil or a similar substance as the plasticiser (plastic softening agent). This is still a very unstable material, and will break down over time.
Porous toys can give you yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, expose your vagina/anus to harsh chemicals or mould, and more. There is no cleaning method that will ever sanitize these or make them safe. Since these toys cannot be sanitised, a simple soap and water wash with one of the sex toy cleaners that is antibacterial is the best you can do.
Using condoms, non lubricated is recommended for your health and wellbeing.

Make sure any sex toys made from TPE or TPR are 100% dry before storing them in a dark, dry place. Keep a very close eye on the product for colour changes, black spots (indicates mould/mildew) and foul odours. If any of that is found, toss and replace, or upgrade to one made from another material such as Silicone, glass or stainless steel.

Note: The more solid a TPR/TPE is, the less porous it will be. Some brands such as Nomi Tang, use food grade non-porous TPE. You’ll also come across terms like medical grade TPR. These are used in products not designed to be inserted.

Only use water based personal lubricants with any Adult product made with TPR or TPE.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From PVC/Jelly/Rubber/Latex

These materials are porous and found at the cheaper end of the spectrum. They also have a high risk of containing phthalates (despite some advertising platforms listing them as ‘phthalates-free’ there are still a high amount of plastic softeners and other chemicals included in them that can irritate skin causing rashes. We strongly recommend you use non lubricated condoms even if you don’t intend to share your toy.

Sex toys made with PVC, Jelly, Rubber or Latex can not be sanitised, so a simple soap and water wash before using one of the sex toy cleaners that is antibacterial to clean the surface is the best you can do.

Apart from oil based lubes, Silicone and water based personal lubricants are fine to use on these products.

Cleaning Sex Toys Made From ‘Realistic’ Materials

There are a number of products that have trademarked certain names that promote their material is life like to touch. While this is true, there are many realistic vibrators, dildos and male masturbators that promote they’re made with Cyberskin, UR3, Futurotic, NeoSkin, Soft Touch, UltraSkin, or Fauxskin. These are all names and are not materials. Often, TPR and rubber is the actual material and they’re all very porous so can’t be sanitised.

The best way to clean them is with warm soapy water, followed by one of the antibacterial sex toy cleaners for sale from Adult Sex Toy Wholesalers.
All these names also mean there is the need to ‘dust’ them with a special dusting powder and must be 100% dry before storing away in a clean, dry and dark place. They can mildew. DO NOT clean these sex toys with harsh chemicals – the chemicals can stay in the pores of the material and will then be in contact with the delicate tissue of the vagina or anus.

Keep a very close eye on the product for colour changes, black spots (indicates mould/mildew) and foul odours. If any of this is found, toss and replace with a better quality sex toy made with medical grade Silicone that will last you many years.

Note: A really good alternative to these realistic names, which is quite new to the industry are sex toys made from ‘Dual-Density Silicone’. They replicate the real feel and look while being hygienic and easy to clean.

Sex Toy Storage

Keeping your sex toys clean and dry in between use is paramount to them being as safe to use as possible and to extend their useable life.
Adult Sex Toy Wholesalers have a number of storage options including lockable storage cases and lint-free satin bags that can be washed. PlayTray sex toy coasters are also a great way to keep your products and bed side cabinet clean before you’re ready to take them to the bathroom for cleaning.

Rechargeable vibrators that have the ability to ‘lock’ should always be locked. Most travel locks are switched on and off by holding the power button down for 3-5 seconds. We often hear a vibrator has gone flat unexpectedly, discovering it’s been turned on because something else has bumped the switch and it’s run flat.
Battery-operated vibes should be stored without the batteries inside, unless it is a toy you use daily (meaning, you’re going to be draining the life out of the batteries before there’s any chance of corrosion. Cheap batteries have a chance of slowly draining dead, leaking battery acid, or the toy gets bumped and turned on. When traveling with sex toys, remove the batteries.
While it may seem cost-effective to buy and use rechargeable batteries in a battery operated sex toy, it is not. In fact, some toy makers will specifically tell you not to use these, as they are less powerful. You will not see the proper power level of your sex toy by using rechargeable batteries.