To clean male sex toys, rinse them with warm water right after use, wash the inside with a mild unscented soap or a toy cleaner, rinse again, and let them dry completely before you put them away. For a stroker, that takes about two minutes plus drying time. The details depend on what the toy is made of and whether the sleeve is open or closed at the end.
Strokers need more care than most toys because all those internal ribs and nubs are built to grab things, including lube and fluids.
Step 1: check the material
Everything we sell is non-porous: silicone, ABS plastic, borosilicate glass, or stainless steel. Non-porous means fluids stay on the surface, where soap and water can reach them. You can learn more in our guide to porous vs. non-porous materials.
Most strokers on the market, though, are TPE or TPR, often sold as realistic skin. Those materials are porous. They soak up lube and body fluids, and no amount of scrubbing gets them fully clean. A 2014 study in Sexually Transmitted Infections compared a TPE vibrator with a silicone one. A day after cleaning, HPV was still found on 40% of samples from the TPE toy and on none from the silicone. Soft jelly toys have another problem: a 2006 Danish Environmental Protection Agency survey found that jelly is usually soft PVC, and 10 of the 15 products it tested contained phthalate softeners. If you own a porous stroker, treat it as personal, keep it for yourself, and replace it once it smells or looks cloudy.
Step 2: how to clean male sex toys
Clean it right away. Lube and fluids rinse off easily while they are fresh and turn gummy overnight.
- Rinse with warm water. Hot is fine, boiling is not, since many strokers have soft sleeves or a case. Run water straight through an open-ended sleeve. For a closed-end toy, fill it halfway, cover the opening, and shake.
- Wash with a gentle cleaner. Use a mild, unscented soap or a toy cleaner. Heavily fragranced body washes can leave residue that irritates skin next time. Work the soap into the ribs and textures with your fingers.
- Rinse until the water runs clear. Leftover soap is the most common cause of irritation after a clean toy.
- If the toy has a motor, keep the charging port and seams out of the water unless the maker says it is fully waterproof.
Soap and water clean a toy; they do not sterilize it. If you want to go further with a solid silicone, glass, or steel toy that has no motor, you can boil it for a few minutes. Check the manufacturer's instructions first. Our older post on the right way to clean every toy material goes through each one.
Step 3: dry it properly
Moisture trapped inside a sleeve is how toys start to smell. Mold can grow on leftover grime even when the material itself is non-porous.
- Open-ended strokers: shake out the water and stand the sleeve upright on a clean towel somewhere with airflow. Air will pass through the tunnel and dry it.
- Closed-end strokers: these take longer. Pat inside with a lint-free cloth or paper towel, then leave the toy open to the air until the inside is fully dry. Avoid toilet paper, which leaves fuzz stuck to silicone.
If a sleeve comes out of its case, take it out to dry. Both parts dry much faster separately.
Step 4: store it well
Store silicone toys so they are not pressed against each other. Many makers recommend this because some silicone blends can react on contact and turn tacky, and separate storage costs nothing. The original box works, or a breathable cotton bag.
Skip airtight plastic bags, which hold in any leftover moisture. Keep toys out of direct sun and away from heaters. A drawer or a lockable box does the job; our post on discreet storage solutions has more ideas if you share your space.
The two-minute routine
Rinse warm, wash with mild soap or toy cleaner, rinse clear, air dry fully, store apart. That is the whole thing. Keep a toy cleaner and a bottle of water-based lube together (both are in our lube and care section), and the routine becomes automatic. A non-porous stroker cared for this way can last for years.