Adult Toy Care
Basic Cleaning & Care:
Before washing your adult toys, remove any batteries from the toy. Sex toys
should ideally be stored without batteries to help extend the life of your toys
and your batteries. If the electric contacts inside your toy are a little corroded,
the corrosion can be removed with a cotton swab and some baking soda and then
apply a very light film of petroleum jelly to prevent further corrosion.
If you can’t clean your adult toys properly right away, baby wipes can
be used as a preliminary clean until you can get to it. Be sure to clean your
sex toys thoroughly before using them again. And always check your toys for
cracks or splits before using.
Follow the cleaning instructions for specific sex toy materials for optimal
results, and remember, unless your vibrator says “waterproof”, do
NOT immerse it in water. |
Plastic
Toys:
Lubes: Plastic toys may be used with any lube, though oil-based lube, of course,
should never be used internally as it may cause infection.
Cleaning: Plastic toys are easy to clean, being smooth and fairly non-porous.
Using merely soap and water or toy cleaner, you can keep your plastic toys clean
and ready for play. Plastic toys may also be cleaned with rubbing alcohol which
helps sterilize the sex toy as well. Plastic toys that are used anally or shared
between partners can be used with a condom for ease of clean-up.
Jelly:
Lubes: Jelly toys should be used with a water-based or silicone lube.
Cleaning: Jelly toys need to be treated rather differently then plastic as it
is a porous material and reacts negatively to some lubes and cleaners. Jelly
toys should always be cleaned with a sex toy cleaner. Due to its porosity, any
sex toys that are used anally or shared should be used with a condom.
Latex:
Lubes: Latex toys should be used with either a water-based or silicone lube.
Cleaning: Latex toys should be cleaned with either soap and water or toy cleaner.
Latex is quite porous so any toys used for anal play or sharing should be condom
covered to reduce the risk of bacterial infection. Some people are allergic
to latex and should opt for silicone or jelly toys instead.
Silicone:
Lubes: Silicone toys should be used with a water-based lube, NOT silicone lube
as this deteriorates the silicone material, basically eating it away.
Cleaning: Silicone toys can be cleaned with soap and water, toy cleaner, boiled,
or even put in the dishwasher (as long as it doesn’t have internal mechanisms
which may be affected by the heat and water). Silicone is fairly non-porous
but for the sake of your health, using a condom when sharing toys is still recommended.
Take care to not nick the surface of silicone toys as any little cut can turn
into a bigger one quite easily.
Cyberskin:
Lube: Use a water-based lube, silicone lube shouldn't be used with cyberskin
toys.
Cleaning: Cyberskin toys are best cleaned with products designed for Cyberskin
in particular. These products can help you get the most value out of your Cyberskin
sex toys as they will actually help them last longer.
Acrylic/Metal./Glass
toys:
Lube: Any lube can be used with these toys; keeping in mind that oil-based lube
should never be used internally.
Cleaning: These toys can be washed with soap and water, toy cleaner, or in the
dishwasher. Because they are non-porous, they will not trap bacteria and can
be safely shared between partners.
Leather
and wood:
Cleaning: The most common adult toys made from leather or wood are paddles and
flogger type toys. Usually a wipe down with a damp mildly soapy cloth is adequate.
Storing
your Adult Toys:
Store your toys out of direct sunlight to reduce the rate of deterioration.
Some toys, especially those made from Jelly materials, are dust and hair magnets,
so take care to keep them in a drawer or somewhere else where they can’t
pick up dust, or better yet get into the habit of washing them just before use.
A good way to store individual toys is each in their own little
bag or section in your drawer or toy chest so that they don’t
touch and possibly transfer bacteria.
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