The Importance of Cleaning and Maintaining Your Sex Toys for Safe and Hygienic Use

Sex toys are great companions whether you are using them for your personal pleasure or to enhance a sexual encounter, but it is extremely important that they are kept clean and maintained well so you can get the most out of them.

Cleaning and maintaining your sex toys is important primarily because it can help prevent bacterial, fungal and sexually-transmitted infections. A well-maintained sex toy will also last longer.

Read on to find out more about the importance of keeping your sex toys clean and well-maintained, as well as some tips on how to clean them.

Dirty Sex Toys Are A Breeding Ground For Bacteria

The primary reason you’ll want to keep your sex toys clean is to prevent unwanted bacteria from entering your body when using them.

You can end up with a nasty bacterial or fungal infection in your intimate regions if you use a dirty sex toy. It might look clean enough, but you could end up with painful and unpleasant conditions like bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections from microscopic fungal spores and bacteria that are invisible to the naked eye.

 You might think that a sex toy is clean enough if you are just using it on yourself and popping it back into your drawer afterwards, but this simply isn’t true; you should always give your sex toy a good clean before and after you use it.

Shared Sex Toys Risk Spreading STIs

If you use a sex toy that has recently been used by someone that is carrying an STI there is a chance that you can pick up that STI from the sex toy.

It’s impossible to get an STI from masturbation, but it could happen that someone is either borrowing your toy without your knowledge or you might decide to use the toy to enhance a sexual encounter and risk transmitting a disease. 

Either way, it’s always best to err on the safe side and make sure your sex toys are cleaned properly and thoroughly before and after use.

Well Maintained Sex Toys Last Longer

Sex toys can get quite pricey – especially if you don’t look after them properly and have to replace them frequently. 

Nothing lasts forever, not even the high-end SVAKOM vibrators that seem otherwise bulletproof – but even a cheap vibrator will get you where you need to go for longer if you look after it properly.

Dirt can contribute to the wear and tear of a sex toy. Besides the ick factor of putting something contaminated with who-knows-what anywhere near your more sensitive regions, you surely don’t want to be shelling out more of your hard-earned cash to replace your toys more often than necessary.

How To Clean And Maintain Your Sex Toys

Now that we have discussed why it’s important to clean your sex toys, here is some advice on to actually clean them.

• Check The Instructions – most sex toys will come with instructions on how to keep them clean, refer to these before moving on to any of the following steps.
• Use Warm, Soapy Water – Any soap should work fine, just be careful not to completely submerge vibrators that don’t carry an IPX7 rating. Ideally, you will want to use an antibacterial soap.
• Do Not Use Harsh Chemicals – Rubbing alcohol, spirits, or any other harsh chemical can damage or destroy your sex toy.
• Try A Sex Toy Cleaner – To be on the safe side, you could invest in a cleaner that is designed to be safe for the commonly-used body-safe materials sex toys are made of.
• Do Not Use Sex Toys With Low Batteries  – Toys with non-removable batteries will degrade faster if used often at a low charge. Rather keep it charged up.

Keeping your sex toys clean doesn’t take all that much effort and is definitely worth the extra bit of effort. Rather safe than sorry, as they say.

How Often To Clean Sex Toys

You may hear people say that less is more, but when it comes to cleaning sex toys, this isn’t the case. 

Ideally, you will want to clean your sex toy before and after use. This can be really easy if you like to enjoy your masturbation session in the shower or bath. If you’re sharing the toy or using it during sex, the same is true – instead, give it a quick wash than risk spreading harmful bacteria.

You don’t have to clean toys that you aren’t planning to use, but if a toy has not been used for a while you might want to give it a little extra attention before using it. A good idea is to store your sex toys in sealed bags or containers when they aren’t in use to prevent contamination and damage.

Conclusion

No matter what kind of sex toy you have, or how many, they all need to be kept clean to keep you and any partner you might use them with safe. Cleaning them before you use them is the rule of thumb to keep in mind.