For fun and memorable experiences with your sex toys, you need to know how to maintain and care for them properly. This sex toy care guide shows how.
Now that you are a proud owner of a sex toy, you must be committed to using your toys safely. A significant portion of this will involve taking good care of your sex toy to maintain longevity and good hygiene. While most sex toys today are pretty easy to care for, it’s often ignoring the little details that lead to potential dangers.
In this guide, we’ll look at how to improve your sex toy life through proper sex toy maintenance.
Why It’s Important to Take Good Care of Your Sex Toys
Most sex toys are built to last, but their longevity and proper functionality will depend on how well you take care of these toys. This covers everything from cleaning sex toys to proper storage and usage to ensure they are always in tip-top condition.
In turn, you’ll get to avoid many issues, including:
- Germs and Bacterial Infections
Most sex toys don’t self-clean, and even those that do still require human attention to ensure they are properly cleaned, dried, and stored. Failure to keep your sex toys clean always comes with the risk of creating favorable environments for germs and bacteria to thrive. Consequently, this can lead to severe infections, which is the last thing you ever want.
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Improper use and sharing of sex toys should always be avoided, especially with non-partners, as these toys can easily transmit sexually transmitted diseases. If you are using sex toys with a partner, the right steps should also be taken to avoid STDs, such as using condoms.
- Sex Toy Malfunction or Damage
Failing to properly use, care for, store, and maintain your sex toys significantly impacts their longevity and can lead to sudden malfunction or damage, which can put you at risk of injury. As a rule, if you notice signs of general wear and tear on your sex toy or a sudden drop in performance, especially for electrical toys, it’s time to toss it always and get a new toy.
The Secrets of Proper Sex Toy Maintenance
Know the Sex Toy Material and How to Clean It
Sex toys are made of various materials, and each material requires some special care to keep them in the best condition. In general, we have three categories of these sex toy materials, and these are:
- Porous Materials
Porous materials contain pores or holes, and if not cleaned properly, they can harbor germs or bacteria. Cleaning sex toys made of these materials need to be thorough and regular. Typically, this is best done using warm or room temperature water and mild soap to ensure they don’t create favorable conditions for bacteria or germs to thrive. They must also be well-dried before they are stored.
0Some of the common porous materials used to make sex toys are jelly rubber, latex, elastomer, PVC, and vinyl.
- Non-porous Materials
Sex toys made of non-porous materials, on the other hand, don’t contain pores or holes and are generally easier to clean and maintain as they don’t harbor germs/bacteria easily. These toys are best cleaned with warm water and soap and dried with a clean cloth.
Some of the common nonporous materials used to make sex toys are glass, stainless steel, pyrex, silicone, ABS plastic, and crystals.
- Special Materials
Special materials here cover those sex toy materials that have unique qualities and need extra attention when cleaning them. In the world of sex toys, these materials include Cyberskin and leather.
Cyberskin is unique as it was designed to mimic human skin and is best cleaned with warm water and specialized sex toy cleaners. You should avoid using very hot water to clean these toys or storing them when they are damp/moist. Most importantly, Cyberskin sex toys are best maintained by using a renewal powder to keep the material soft and human-like.
For leather sex toys, you should never soak them in water. Instead, you need to wipe them with a damp cloth, and when dry, use a leather conditioner to maintain their texture and durability.
Invest in Proper Storage
You need to have a specific spot where you store your sex toys rather than just throwing them around. Luckily, most sex toys are meant to be stored in a cool, dry place, and your wardrobe or side drawer is always a good choice.
However, you must ensure your drawer is clean and well-padded, preferably with a clean cloth or towel. Remember to go through your sex toys care guide, as some sex toys are best stored in specific materials such as lint-free fabric bags or padded containers.
Always Use and Have the Right Lube
One lesson you’ll quickly learn once you start using sex toys is that you always need lube, and you’ll need a lot of it. There is hardly ever a thing as having too much lube when using most sex toys, especially those that require some sort of penetration.
However, depending on the sex toy’s material, you must always know the right lube to use with each toy. For example, you must never use silicone lube on silicone toys as doing this will damage your toy due to the resulting reaction. If you are never sure what lube works for a specific material, it’s best to settle for water-based lube, which is versatile and great for most materials.
Don’t Share – It’s Risky
Sex toys are private items that are best not shared with anyone, especially friends and non-partners. The level of care and maintenance you give your sex toy only makes it safe for you to use either on yourself or together with a partner who you trust.
Once you share your sex toy, there is no guarantee that it was used the right way or cleaned correctly, and this will put you at great risk. If you have a friend or close one who is curious to try one of your sex toys, it’s best to consider gifting them a new one or recommending where they can buy one instead of sharing.
Be Keen With Batteries & Rechargeable Toys
More and more sex toys today have some sort of electrical feature, and this means dealing with batteries and electricity. You’ll need to be extra keen with such toys as they require proper battery maintenance to remain safe and functional.
- Some of the best practices you’ll need to adhere to include:
- Avoid overcharging your rechargeable sex toys
- Replacing the batteries after the specified usage period
- Remove batteries if you plan to store a sex toy for a while
- If the toy is not water-proof, never submerge it in water/liquid
- Always keep the charging port sealed and cleaned
- If it has to be plugged in for usage, avoid using it for too long or until it gets hot
Know When to Say Goodbye
Sex toys are not forever, and you need to know when it’s time to dispose of your adult toy. A sex toy that has seen better days will not be as safe and efficient as a new one, so replacing old sex toys will always be to your advantage.
For electric toys, the risks are even higher, as old sex toys could malfunction and put you at risk of injury. To avoid this, always carefully assess your sex toys each time you are using, cleaning, or storing them for any signs of wear and tear or underlying issues that affect performance. Once you notice these signs, it’s time to go back shopping.
Conclusion
While sex toys are a great tool for spicing up things in the bedroom, whether you love self-pleasure or using adult toys with a partner, all that fun can only be sustained through good sex toy maintenance. Remember, the first thing you must always do is go through your sex toys care guide before you even think about using it, as proper sex toy care and maintenance starts on day one.
Don’t forget also to implement these expert-approved tips, as they will go a long way in ensuring you always have the best experiences with these toys.