So youve purchased a sex toy that really flips the script for you. A dildo, maybe a vibrator, or even something more intense. Well, after the hand tires, or the batteries fade, or youve reached a truly phenomenal orgasm, its time to wind down and sadly, put it away.

You need to know how to care for your sex toys properly. If you dont, you risk some very unpleasant repercussions. Infections for example. No one wants that.

Know the Material Your Sex Toy is Made Of

Use a sex toys buyers guide to help you choose the material best suited for you and your lifestyle. If you dont like labor-intensive cleaning, choose something simple. Some sex toys require you to wash them with a specialized sex toy soap. Others have to be sprinkled with cornstarch and stored separately in condoms in a dark, cool place. Others, a simple wash or rinse will do. If you dont know the materials you are using intimately, youre taking a great health risk every time you use your sex toy.

Types of Materials

Porous Materials/Realistic Skins

Sex toys with realistic skins are usually made of very porous materials that will hold dirt and bacteria. They should only be shared using a condom. Still, some people think they are well worth the investment. Here are a few types of materials that require that extra oomph to keep the pleasure going and the risk low.

• Cyberskin
• Fturotic
• Futurotic Plus
• SensaFirm
• SoftTouch
• Ultra realistic 3.0 (UR3)

All of these materials require the following care:

• Should be cleaned before and after use with warm water and either soap made for toys or an antibacterial soap.

• Be dusted with cornstarch (not talcum powder) to keep them from getting sticky while in storage.

• Be stored in a condom and wrapped in a plastic bag separate from other toys.

• Not be wrapped in colored fabrics like socks because the porous skin absorbs dyes.

• Be kept in a cool, dark place.

• Be used with only water-based lubricants.

Other Materials

There are other more common materials used in sex toy design that require other methods of cleaning which we will address here:

Silicone

Non-porous and smooth, a sex toy made of silicone can be sanitized by boiling for three minutes or putting it in the dishwasher. Use water-based lubricants with this material.

TPR

This semi-porous material requires warm water, toy soap or mild soap to clean. Because it does have a porous nature, a condom is recommended when sharing a sex toy made of this material.

Crystalessence

A quick rinse will make sex toys made of this material ready for immediate use. Sex toys should be stored in a clean, lint-free area. You can use oil, water or silicon-based lubricants with sex toys made of this material.

When it comes to sex toys, cleanliness is next to healthiness and sexiness. Keep them clean.