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Cleaning Your Sex Toys
How to Keep Your Adult Toy Products Clean and Safe

When it comes to adult sex toys, there is no question that cleanliness is next to Godliness...

Regular and appropriate cleaning and disinfection will not only help maintain the integrity of the materials from which your adult sex toys are made from, it will ensure that they are safe for your personal use.

Adult Supermart logo, linking back to Sex Toy and Adult Sexuality 101, Frequently Asked Questions about Adult Toys and Sexuality.

A clean sex toy is a happy sex toy, and a happy, sexy adult toy makes for a very, very happy, sexy, adult sex toy user!

Be sure to wash your sex toys, and any other adult products intended for personal use, before you use them for the first time as part of your pre-use sex toy preparation. Be sure to clean and dry your adult sex toys immediately after each use before storing. You should also, always thoroughly inspect any new sex toy you purchase and prepare it for safe use.


Image of the Chameleon Waterproof Vibrating Cock!

Sex Toy Cleaning Basics

Before washing any adult sex toy, be sure to remove the batteries first. Sex toys should ideally be stored without batteries in them, which helps extend the life of both, the batteries and your adult toys.

If the electric contacts inside your adult toy are a little corroded, the corrosion can be removed with a cotton swab and some baking soda. Then you can apply a very light film of petroleum jelly to prevent further corrosion.

If you are unable to clean your sex toys immediately after use, baby wipes can be used to give them a quick and preliminary clean up until you are able to do the job right.

Be sure to clean your sex toys thoroughly before you use them again, and always check your adult toys for cracks or splits before every use.

The following cleaning instructions for specific sex toy materials will result in optimal results. Remember, unless your vibrator says “waterproof”, do NOT immerse it in water.


Cleaning Plastic Adult Sext ToysCleaning Plastic Sex Toys

Plastic toys are generally smooth and fairly non-porousvery, thus are easy to keep clean. A simple soap and water wash, using an anti-bacterial hand soap, or an intended purpose sex toy cleaner, will keep your plastic adult toys clean and safe for sex play.

Plastic sex toys may also be cleaned with rubbing alcohol which helps sterilize the sex toy as an added health precaution (always rinse thoroughly afterward).

Plastic adult sex toys that are used anally or shared between partners can be used with a condom for ease of clean-up.


Cleaning Jelly Sex Toys

Jelly sex toys need to be treated rather differently than do plastic sex toys. These sex toy products are extremely porous, and must be washed thoroughly with warm water and anti-bacterial hand soap, and then rinsed very well so that no trace of soap is left. Soap and detergent residue can degrade the jelly material and cause irritation to you.

Because jelly sex toys tend to be more porous, they can react negatively to some personal sex lubes and cleaners.

We recommend that jelly sex toys preferably be cleaned with a sex toy cleaner. Due to the porosity of jelly sex toys, any sex toys that are used anally or shared should be used with a condom to ensure effective clean up.

Again, while it's a good idea to use a condom with any insertable toys, it's an especially good idea with these materials.


Cleansing Latex Adult Sex ToysCleaning Latex Sex Toys

Cleaning latex adult toys should be done 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.

These sex toy products are extremely porous, and must be washed thoroughly with warm water and anti-bacterial hand soap, and then rinsed very well so that no trace of soap is left. Soap and detergent residue can degrade the jelly material and cause irritation to you.

Some people are allergic to latex and should opt for silicone or jelly toys instead.

Again, while it's a good idea to use a condom with any insertable toys, it's an especially good idea with these materials.


Keeping Silicone Adult Sex Toys CleanCleaning Silicone Sex Toys

Silicone sex toys can be cleaned with soap and water, toy cleaner, boiled, or even put in the dishwasher (so long as the adult toy doesn’t have internal mechanisms which may be affected by the heat and water).

Silicone sex toys are fairly non-porous but for the sake of your health, using a condom when sharing toys is still recommended, especially when anal insertion is intended. Take care to not nick the surface of silicone toys as any little cut can turn into a bigger one quite easily.

Hypoallergenic and the easiest to maintain of most sex toy materials, silicone dildos and non-battery-operated toys can be boiled for two to three minutes, or simply washed with soap and water. Let the freshly washed adult toy air dry completely or hand dry with a lint-free cloth before storing.


Cleaning Cyberskin and other Realistic Sex Toys

Cyberskin sex toys are best cleaned with products designed specifically for Cyberskin adult toys. These products can help you get the most value out of your Cyberskin sex toys as they will actually help them last longer.

Keeping Cyberskin Adult Toys CleanRealistic names of different sex toy and adult product materials include:

  • CyberskinTM
  • FuturoticTM
  • NeoSkin®
  • Soft TouchTM
  • UltraSkin
  • FauxskinTM

If you're unsure of the type of material, check the packaging or product page, or contact Customer Service at the place of purchase. These types of material are widely used for erection rings and masturbation sleeves, as well as vibrators and dildos.

Thoroughly wash with warm (never hot) water and a liquid antibacterial soap, then let air dry completely. Once dry, sprinkle with the included "renewing" powder or cornstarch. Never use talcum powder or baby powder, as these can cause irritation and sometimes larger problems for women (pure talc is fine but very difficult to find).


Pocket Pussy and Masturbation Sleeves

Wash your masturbation sleeves and pocket pussies in warm soapy water. Be careful not to nick or cut the surface.

Use only water-based lubricant. Never use silicone lubes, oils or lotions because they'll degrade the toy's surface. Make sure the sleeve is fully dry before putting it away. Store it in a plastic baggie or lint-free cloth in a dark, cool area.


keeping Acrylic, Metal and Glass Adult Sex Toys CleanCleaning Acrylic, Metal and Glass Sex Toys

Acrylic, metal and glass sex 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 so long as they are thoroughly cleaned after each use.

Glass, acrylic and metal sex toys and adult products may be boiled or submerged in hot water for sterilization, so long as they're not battery-operated.

Never insert metal, glass and acrylic sex toys or adult products anally, unless the toy is specifically designed for that purpose. Glass especially gets super slippery and if not intended as an anal toy, could be difficult to retrieve and actually require a visit to the emergency room. Something few of us would like to experience.

As with all sex toys and adult products, inspect acrylic, metal and glass adult toys before each use for nicks or cracks, and discard the toy if you find any.

Glass, acrylic and metal sex toys and adult products can be cleaned with soap and water or washed in a dishwasher. Glass, acrylic and metal sex toys and adult toy products are safe to share if they are sterilized in boiling water


Cleaning Leather and Wood Sex ToysCleaning Leather and Wood Sex Toys

The most common of all adult toys made from leather or wood are paddles and flogger type sex toys used for BDSM play. Usually a wipe down with a damp mildly soapy cloth is adequate.

Wipe wooden paddles down with a damp cloth. Don't immerse in water or the wood will warp. Plastic paddles are water-resistant. Leather can be cleaned with leather cleaner or wiped with a damp soapy cloth. Nylon and neoprene restraints are waterproof and can be immersed if necessary.


Lingerie

Follow the instructions on the label, or simply wash in cold water with a mild clothing soap such as Woolite.


Storing your Adult Toys

Store your adult toys out of direct sunlight to reduce the rate of oxidation and deterioration. Some adult sex 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.

Best yet is to get into the habit of washing your sex toys just before each and every use.

Read more about the Proper Storage of Adult Toys.

A good way to store individual adult toys is each in their own little bag, or section in your dresser drawer or toy chest, so that they don’t touch and possibly transfer bacteria.


Sex Toys and Allergies

Because sex toys not only touch your skin, but touch very intimate areas of your body, it's extremely important to know whether you have any allergies or sensitivities to certain sex toy materials and adult toy cleansers.

If you're not sure, we highly recommend that you do an allergy test on a small patch of skin, such as the wrist, before using any adult product intimately.


Adult Toy Care Guide

Everything you Ever Wanted to Know about the Care and Feeding of your Sex Toys and Adult Toy Products, but were afraid to ask!

Visit Sex Toys 101 - The most frequently asked questions about Sex Toys and Adult Toy Products, answered by the folks at Adult Supermart online sex toy and adult product super store!


Much of the information presented here and else where within Adult Supermart website has been provided by Sex, Toys and Adult Entertainment.

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