How To Clean Your Sex Toys

TL;DR: yes you need to clean your sex toys. Seriously. Yes, you can use soap. No, toy cleaners aren’t a gimmick and there’s real reasons why you might want to use them over soap. Yes, the material choice for your toys does matter. Yes, sometimes there’s smells, especially if you’re using anal toys. Either let them air out, or try some diluted bleach.

And if that’s all you came here for, congrats, you can go now. If you want the guide for cleaning your sex toys, or all the awkward reasons why you should clean your sex toys where we talk body parts, bodily fluid and smells, read on.

Cleaning your sex toys

There are a few simple steps you’ll need to take to clean your sex toys. There are some variations and notes depending on the toy, but let’s go over the general steps first before we get to the exceptions.

Step 1: Rinse your toys

This one’s simple – just rinse your toys in the sink under running water to remove excess lube, fluids and anything else sticking to your toys

Step 2: Apply a cleaning agent

If you have toy cleaner, this is where you spray it on your toy and leave it for thirty seconds. If you’re using soap, apply liquid soap or the lather from a bar of soap. Then scrub. Whether you’re using your hand, a washcloth, or an old, soft toothbrush, you need to work that soap or toy cleaner around all the nooks and crannies of the toy to remove all the residue from your sexy fun times.

This is the part that’s easy to skimp on, but it’s okay. You can do it again before you use your sex toys if you missed something. Like lube residue. That one happens more often than you think.

Step 3: Dry your toy

Either let your toy air dry fully, or wipe it dry with a lint free cloth. It’s easier to manually dry firmer, less textured toys, like those made from ABS plastic, glass, or metal. Softer, more textured toys are better air dried overnight on a light-coloured old towel. And the reason I say ‘light-coloured’ and ‘old’ is that darker dyes on a new towel can leech into your porous sex toys. Think of it like putting a white T-shirt in the wash with a brand-new red pair of shorts. Hey presto – pink T-shirt.

Step 4: Put your toy away

Okay this the optional part. If you don’t have housemates or kids around, leaving your toys out on the bathroom counter so you can grab them next time isn’t the worst thing in the world. But it’s worth putting away your toys if they’re going to be exposed to direct sunlight. You know exactly what the Aussie sun does to anything it hits, and your toys are no exception. For international readers – colours bleach out white, rubber becomes a brittle, dry mess, and plastic can crumble into shards or dust.

How to clean vibrating and powered sex toys

There are few things to check with powered sex toys – firstly that they’re off. Secondly whether they’re waterproof. If they’re not waterproof (IPX7), don’t submerge them in water to wash them. If they’re not at least splashproof (IPX6) don’t rinse them under running water. Wipe them down with a wet towel instead.

For male masturbators specifically, see if the sleeve detaches fully from whatever is powering the vibrations. A lot of sleeves are removable letting you clean them without having to get water anywhere near the electrics. You may just have to pop out a few bullet vibrators that make the toy go.

One final note – don’t try to charge your toy until it’s fully dry. I’ve managed to ruin a motor by pushing one of those charging pins through the self-sealing silicone dimple while the toy was still damp and owner stupidity in mixing electricity and water isn’t covered by warranty.

Strokers and masturbators

If you can, turn your stroker, or masturbator sleeve inside out to make cleaning easier. Even if they are open ended and you can rinse water through it, you’ll need access to all those little nubs and ridges inside the toy. They what make your sesh feel great, but they also hold on to lube, water and other liquids like you wouldn’t believe.

Drying close ended sleeves is especially tricky, and I recommend drying them manually as best you can, and letting it dry inside out overnight. In the morning, it right side out and leave it to dry again if necessary And do remember to turn it right side in. The tension of being inside out will break a lot of TPE sleeves over time. If you leave it out for days, you may find it unusable when you next pick it up.

You can also use things like tailor made drying racks or sleeve warmers to help speed up the drying process, especially for open ended sleeves.

What about…smells?

I’m just going to say it: if you use anal toys, you’ll find poo on them eventually and you may find the aroma lingers after cleaning. The smell will go away eventually if your toys are kept in a well-ventilated place, but you can try spraying or submerging them in a mild bleach solution for about 10 minutes. And by mild I mean around a 10% solution.

You can also try submerging a waterproof or non-motored toy in white vinegar for 15-30 minutes at room temperature.

Either way, rinse your toys thoroughly or wipe them with a clean cloth after either of these treatments. Then dry them appropriately.

Cleaning bondage gear & sex furniture

Most budget bondage gear can be cleaned by wiping them with a damp, lint-free cloth. You can add toy cleaner or a liquid soap to the cloth if you need it. If you’ve got leather gear, use a leather care balm on it at least once a year to keep it supple in addition to wiping it clean. Store your bondage gear out of the direct sunlight to keep them in the best condition possible.

Sex furniture follows these same rules for cleaning bondage gear, or really, as any other furniture in your house.

That’s basically it, but when it comes to cleaning your sex toys there are a lot of questions that crop up all the time, so all the squicky answers are below. If you aren’t interested, don’t want to be grossed out, or just want to go play with your toys I won’t be upset if you stop reading here.

Still with me? Okay. Let’s go.

Isn’t rinsing good enough?

Look, you can do whatever you what, but rinsing isn’t always going to remove everything from your toys. Lubes can stay on surfaces in water, especially hybrid or silicone lubes – that’s what they’re for after all. And you’ve probably noticed ejaculate doesn’t just rinse off everything. Instead it turns into little, tiny clumps. Apparently it’s got something to do with how different proteins interact with water, but the point is, it’s a bitch to clean out of your pubes. Or your toys.

Anyway, rinsing alone is a great way to get super crusty toys when you pick them up next time. And if it’s a closed end stroker, it can get icky, and smell weird and even grow mould if you don’t clean it properly.

If you’d prefer to use your expensive new pleasure purchase more than once, please clean it properly soon after use. Enjoy your orgasm, let the endorphins run all through your body, but do clean up at some point, yeah?

Do I have to use sex toy cleaner?

No, but.

There’s a lot of research out there about how anti-bacterial products aren’t any better than washing with soap and water. And if you’re going to wash every nook and cranny of your toy with soapy water, carefully, sure. Soap will work. But let’s face it, sometimes we’re not that thorough, and toy cleaners are a great option for making sure we’re as safe and clean as possible.

Also if you’re vulva owner, sex toy cleaners don’t disrupt the pH of your vagina, so you may prefer them if you’re using toys frequently. And yes, you could carefully wash your toys clean of all soap residue and be just fine, but again, see above re: people being lazy. Or busy. Or distracted by a hot partner.

Finally porous toy materials like TPE or PVC can retain soap residue inside their structures no matter how well you clean them. Toy cleaner is a good option for vaginally inserted toys made from those materials.

TL;DR: a good toy cleaner isn’t a must, but there are reasons to use it over soap. Or in addition to it. Such as keeping you safe.

Wait, what do you mean safe?

Okay, this is the part where we talk about mould. Soft sex toys, such as those made from TPE and silicone, can grow mould and bacteria when they’re damp. And they get damp when you use them, and after you clean them. Plus if you don’t clean them and you came, you are leaving a food source in/on your toys that bacteria may use to multiply. And yes that can mean your toys go mouldy.

Worse, if your toy is made from a porous material, it can harbour bacteria, even after you rinse everything off. Which does mean if you have a case of gonorrhea, use your favourite real-feel toy, get your STI cleared up, and then use your toy again… you could give yourself the clap. There’s a bigger conversation to have about sex toys, materials and safe use, but in general, clean your toys, and don’t share the porous ones with casual partners. And if you do, maybe use a condom. Or be okay with the idea that you may need to replace your toy afterward if someone tests positive for something at their next STI checkup.

More than you wanted to think about when we started with how to clean your sex toys? Yeah, me too. But just as sex toys are part of a healthy sex life, keeping them clean is part of keeping you healthy. And cleaning your toys properly helps them last longer – both physically and because you’ll be more likely to want to use them again.

And that’s getting you more bang for your buck.