How to clean sex toys, in one sentence: wash them with warm water and a mild, unscented soap or a dedicated toy cleaner right after use, rinse well, and let them dry completely before you put them away. The details change with the material. Solid silicone, glass and stainless steel can go into boiling water. Anything with a motor or battery cannot.
This routine assumes non-porous toys, which is all we sell. Porous materials like jelly and TPE hold on to residue however carefully you wash them (our post on porous vs. non-porous materials explains why, and a Danish Environmental Protection Agency survey found that toys sold as "jelly" were typically soft PVC heavy with plasticizers). If you're not sure what a toy is made of, start by reading the label.
How to clean sex toys: three rules for every toy
- Wash it right away. Lube and body fluids dry onto the surface, and by morning they take a scrub instead of a rinse. Two minutes while the toy is still wet is the easy version.
- Skip harsh household cleaners. Bleach, rubbing alcohol and kitchen or bathroom sprays can leave residue you don't want on genital skin, and alcohol can dull or crack some plastic finishes. Mild soap or toy cleaner does the job.
- Dry it completely. A damp toy sealed in a pouch or drawer is how mildew starts. Air-dry it on a clean towel or pat it down with a lint-free cloth.
Cleaning silicone sex toys
Silicone is non-porous, so soap and water reach the whole surface. Run the toy under warm water, work a mild unscented soap or toy cleaner into a lather with your fingers, and rinse until it no longer feels slick. Spend a few extra seconds on ridges, textures and the inside of strokers, where lube collects.
For a deeper clean, a solid silicone toy with no motor, battery or hard insert can go into a pot of boiling water for three to five minutes. Lift it out with tongs and let it cool on a towel. Check the packaging first, though: the manufacturer's care note beats any general advice, ours included.
One caveat. Silicone-based lube can leave the surface of some silicone toys tacky or rough over time. If you want to use it, test a small spot first, or stick with water-based lube. Our lube guide covers which types work with which materials.
Cleaning glass and stainless steel toys
Borosilicate glass and stainless steel are hard, smooth and non-porous, which makes them the easiest toys to keep clean. Wash them the same way as silicone: warm water, mild soap or toy cleaner, a thorough rinse.
Both handle heat well. You can boil them for about five minutes, and many manufacturers say their glass and steel toys can go on the top rack of the dishwasher (check the care card, and skip detergents with bleach). Borosilicate copes with temperature changes far better than ordinary glass, but don't test it. Never move a hot glass toy straight into cold water. Let it cool on a towel.
Before each use, run a finger over glass toys to check for chips or cracks. A damaged glass toy gets retired, not cleaned.
Cleaning ABS plastic and toys with motors
Most vibrators have an ABS plastic body, or a silicone skin over a motor and battery. Waterproof ratings vary, and the charging port or battery cap is the weak point on nearly all of them.
Hold the toy under a gentle stream of warm water instead of soaking it. Lather with toy cleaner or mild soap, rinse quickly, and keep water away from open ports. Screw battery caps down tight before the toy gets wet, and dry it fully, ports included, before you charge it.
Never boil an electronic toy, run it through the dishwasher or leave it in hot water. Heat can damage the battery and the seals that keep water out. For a deeper clean, spray the surface with toy cleaner, wipe it with a clean damp cloth, and let it air-dry.
If you share toys
Washing gets a non-porous toy clean for one person. Between partners, it's less of a guarantee. A 2014 study in Sexually Transmitted Infections found HPV on vibrators even right after they had been cleaned. A day later it was no longer detected on the silicone toy, but it still turned up on some of the thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) ones. If you share, put a fresh condom on anything that goes inside, change it between partners, and wash the toy afterward.
Storing a clean toy
Once a toy is fully dry, keep it in its own cloth pouch or a clean box, away from dust and direct heat. Take the batteries out of anything you won't use for a few weeks, since a leaking battery can ruin the contacts. Toy cleaner and water-based lube are both in our lube and care collection, and a bottle of cleaner by the bed makes the two-minute rule much easier to keep.