A body-safe silicone toy lasts years if it is cleaned and stored properly, and months if it is not. The climate here adds two problems: heat softens cheap materials, and dust settles on anything sticky. Here is the routine.
After every use
- Warm water and a plain, unscented soap. Rub for thirty seconds, paying attention to any ridge or seam.
- Rinse until it no longer feels slippery.
- Dry completely with a clean towel. Water left in a seam grows mould inside a week in this humidity.
- Non-rechargeable, non-electronic silicone can be boiled for three minutes once a month. Anything with a motor or a charging port: wipe with 70% alcohol on a cloth instead, then rinse.
What ruins silicone
- Silicone lubricant. It bonds to the surface and leaves it tacky forever. Water-based only on silicone toys.
- Oils and petroleum jelly. Same problem, plus they degrade the material.
- Harsh cleaners. Bleach, Jik, kitchen degreasers. They roughen the surface, and rough surfaces hold bacteria.
- Direct sun and a hot car. Silicone survives, but batteries and motors do not, and glue in cheaper toys softens.
Storing in heat and dust
A cloth or silicone pouch, in a drawer or wardrobe, not the bathroom. Keep toys from touching each other: some cheaper materials react and melt into each other over time. If the toy came in a plain box, the box plus its pouch is the best storage there is.
The tacky-surface test
Clean silicone feels smooth and slightly velvety. If a toy feels sticky after washing, it has either met silicone lubricant or it is not silicone at all. See the materials guide for the sniff test and what to do about jelly or "TPE" toys.
Sharing
Between partners, wash between uses or use a condom over the toy, especially for anything used internally. It takes ten seconds and removes the question entirely.
Toy cleaners and storage pouches are in the accessories range. A bottle of plain unscented soap does the same job.
