Cleaning and storing your toys

A toy that is cleaned properly lasts for years. A toy that is cleaned with the wrong thing can be ruined in a single wash, and the damage usually shows up as a sticky or cloudy surface weeks later.

The rule that covers most cases

Warm water and a mild, unscented soap, immediately after use, then dry it completely before it goes away. That is all that most toys ever need.

A dedicated toy cleaner is quicker and useful for anything with electronics that should not go under the tap, but it is a convenience rather than a requirement.

Dry is the part people skip. Moisture left in a seam or in a textured sleeve is where trouble starts.

Per material

Silicone, glass and stainless steel without electronics can be boiled for three to five minutes, or run through the dishwasher on the top rack with no detergent. That is real sterilisation, and it is worth doing when a toy is shared or has been used anally.

Anything with a motor, a battery or a charging port is washed by hand. Even waterproof toys should not be boiled: heat kills batteries and seals.

Porous materials such as TPE, TPR and jelly can only be surface cleaned. Wash with soap and water, rinse thoroughly, dry completely, and accept that the inside of the material cannot be reached. Use them with one person, and use a condom over them if you want more certainty.

Strokers and sleeves need to be turned inside out to be cleaned, if the design allows it. Rinse, dry, then dust with a little cornstarch to keep the surface soft and non-tacky.

What never to touch a toy

Alcohol, including hand sanitiser. It dries out silicone and crazes the surface.

Bleach and household disinfectants. They are far harsher than anything the body needs and they are difficult to rinse away completely.

Scented soaps, shower gels and bath bombs. Fragrance and dye are the usual cause of irritation that people blame on the toy.

Boiling water on anything electronic, and the freezer on anything at all.

Abrasive sponges on silicone. They score the surface, and a scored surface holds bacteria that a smooth one does not.

Between partners and between openings

If a toy moves from one person to another, either sterilise it in between or put a fresh condom on it. Condoms are the practical answer, and they work on any shape that will hold one.

The same applies when a toy moves from anal to vaginal use. That direction carries bacteria that cause infections, and no amount of wiping in the moment is enough. Change the condom, or use a different toy.

Anal toys with a flared base are easier to clean because there are no textured recesses to work round.

Charging and batteries in storage

Store rechargeable toys with roughly half a charge if you are not going to use them for months. A lithium battery left completely flat for a long time may never take a charge again.

Take ordinary batteries out of a toy that is going in a drawer for a while. A leaking alkaline battery destroys the contacts and the toy with them.

Check the travel lock. Most rechargeable toys have one, usually a long press or a specific button combination, and it is what stops a suitcase from buzzing.

Storage

Each toy in its own bag or pouch. A storage bag is not a luxury: it keeps dust off silicone and keeps materials from touching each other.

Porous toys must never touch other porous toys or silicone. The plasticisers react and both surfaces turn sticky. This is the most common way people ruin a collection.

Cool, dark and dry. A bedside drawer is fine. A car, a windowsill and a bathroom shelf are not, because heat, sunlight and steady damp all shorten the life of the materials.

Glass and steel go in something padded, because the risk to them is a chip from another hard object rather than wear.

When to replace something

Silicone that has gone permanently tacky. That is silicone lubricant damage or a reaction with another material, and it does not wash off.

Any crack, chip, tear or split seam, on any material.

A porous toy that smells different after cleaning, or that has changed colour or texture. That is the material breaking down.

A rechargeable toy that no longer holds a charge and cannot be opened. Most councils take these as electronic waste.

Frequently asked questions