Cleaning, care and storage — without the myths
Most cleaning advice in this category is either an advert for a proprietary spray you do not need, or vague enough to be useless. Here is what actually matters, and it depends almost entirely on one thing: whether your product is porous.
Start here: is it porous?
If it is silicone, glass, steel or ABS, it is non-porous and can genuinely be cleaned. If it is TPE, TPR, jelly or PVC, it is porous and cannot be fully sanitised no matter what you do. See the materials guide if you are not sure which you own.
This single fact determines everything below.
Non-porous products
Routine cleaning
Mild unscented soap and warm water. That is the whole method. Wash before and after every use, paying attention to seams, the base of any control button, and anywhere the surface changes texture.
Dry it completely before storing. Trapped moisture is the most common cause of a product developing a smell, and it has nothing to do with the material.
Deeper sanitising
For 100% silicone with no motor — a solid dildo or plug — you can boil it for a few minutes, or run it through a dishwasher without detergent. Both genuinely sanitise.
Never boil anything containing a motor, battery or electronics. That includes almost every vibrating product. Heat will destroy the seal and the battery, and a damaged battery is a fire risk, not just a dead product.
Glass and stainless steel tolerate boiling well. Check whether glass is borosilicate first; if the listing does not say, do not risk thermal shock.
Porous products
Wash them the same way — soap and warm water — but understand the limit. You are cleaning the surface, not sanitising the material. The channels below the surface stay contaminated.
The practical approach: use a condom with them, do not share them, and replace them periodically rather than trusting a deep clean. If a porous product has gone tacky, shiny or sticky, the material is breaking down and it should be replaced rather than rescued.
Things to avoid
| Avoid | Why |
|---|---|
| Alcohol and hand sanitiser | Dries and degrades silicone over repeated use. It is not a cleaner for this purpose. |
| Bleach and household disinfectant | Aggressive, hard to rinse fully, and residue is the last thing you want on a product used internally. |
| Scented or antibacterial soaps | Fragrance and antibacterial agents are common irritants for sensitive tissue. Plain and unscented is better. |
| Abrasive scourers | Scratches create exactly the microscopic channels you are trying to avoid — turning a non-porous surface porous. |
| Boiling anything electronic | Destroys seals and batteries. Genuine safety risk. |
Proprietary “toy cleaners” are not harmful, but for non-porous materials they do nothing soap does not. They are a convenience purchase, not a hygiene requirement.
Waterproofing: what the rating actually means
“Waterproof” is not one thing. Look for an IP rating rather than an adjective.
- IPX4 — splash resistant. Wipe it, rinse it briefly. Do not submerge it.
- IPX6 — withstands jets of water. Rinsing under a tap is fine.
- IPX7 — submersible to a depth for a limited time. Safe to wash properly.
Where a manufacturer states a rating but we have not verified it ourselves, our reviews say stated, not verified. Where no rating is given at all, treat the product as splash-resistant at best.
The charging port is almost always the weak point. Even on a submersible product, make sure it is bone dry before charging.
Storage
The pouch supplied in the box is frequently an afterthought — thin, unlined, and sometimes made of a fabric that clings to silicone. A few things that matter more than the bag:
- Do not let silicone products touch each other in storage. Different silicone formulations can react, leaving permanent marks or tacky patches. Store them separately, or in individual bags.
- Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from heat.
- Remove batteries from anything that takes disposables if it will be unused for months.
- Charge lithium products occasionally even when unused. A fully flat lithium cell left for a year may never take a charge again — the most common way a good product dies.
When to replace something
Regardless of price, retire it if you see any of these:
- The surface has gone tacky, sticky or shiny where it used to be matte
- Cracks, splits or tears — including hairline cracks around seams
- A smell that does not wash out
- Any change in colour or texture in one area
- A charging port that has been wet, or a battery that swells the housing
That last one is not cosmetic. A swollen lithium cell should be disposed of at a battery recycling point, not put in household waste.
Nothing here is medical advice. If you experience irritation or a reaction, stop using the product and speak to a pharmacist or doctor.
