How to Clean a Dildo

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How to Clean a Dildo

 

It’s not hot, sexy, or even stimulating, but cleaning your sex toys, including dildos, is 100% necessary. First off, you probably want anything you are touching your genitals with to be clean, right? Especially as dirty toys can lead to infections. Also, when you have toys you love, you want them to have long and happy (for you) lives, and proper maintenance is a great way to maximize your toy’s lifespan. If all of this sounds daunting, have no fear. As long as you know what you are doing, properly cleaning your dildos is super easy. So let’s get down to it, here’s how you clean your dildos!

 

What is the dildo made of?

The first step in properly cleaning a dildo is figuring out what it’s made of. There are two broad categories of materials that are used to make dildos: porous materials and nonporous materials.

If your best dildo is made out of porous material, it has tiny holes (like pores) that can hold onto gunk, including bacteria and fungi. Porous toy materials include:

  • TPR or TPE
  • Jelly rubber
  • Any ultra-realistic skin-like material

If your dildo is made from nonporous materials, you have less to worry about in terms of bacteria, fungi, and gunk, but you still want to clean it. Nonporous materials include:

  • Silicone
  • Steel
  • Glass
  • ABS Plastic (with dildos, this is mostly used in the core of the toy rather than the outside)

If you are not sure what material your dildo is made of, you can check the packaging or look it up online. 

 

How do you wash and dry a dildo?

As important as it is to clean dildos, it’s equally important to clean them correctly. It would be a bummer if, in trying to take good care of your fave dildo you instead ruined its texture, right? So let’s talk about the right way to clean your dildo. 

First up, let’s choose soap! The keyword here is GENTLE. Harsh antibacterial soaps can be too much for some dildos. Plus, while no soap residue would be good for your body, a residue from a harsh and scented soap would be, you guessed it, harsh. Also, you want to avoid scented soap options , especially if you use your toy vaginally, as the vagina has a natural pH that keeps the microflora in balance. The ingredients in scented soaps can upset your pH balance, leaving you more vulnerable to infection. Finally, light soaps are good because they are less likely to leave a residue, and the residue is, as we’ve already discussed, bad news. 

Once you’ve picked your mild soap, it’s time to get down to it. Here are some cleaning instructions based on the material your dildo is made of. 

TPR/TPE or jelly dildos: These materials can be a bit sensitive to heat and so it’s a good idea to use warm rather than hot water to clean them. Run the dildo under warm water, soap it up, and rinse it off. You can also use a wet soapy washcloth.

Realistic skin-like dildos: The cleaning process is similar to that of TPR/TPE toys, with the caveat to go VERY light on the soap to avoid damaging the material and altering the dildo’s texture. To retain the smooth, silky, realistic skin texture, it can be helpful to dust dildos made with these materials with a little cornstarch or refresh powder. 

Silicone, steel, or glass dildos: Just like the toys above, you can use mild soap and warm water, or a damp, soapy washcloth. But wait, there’s more! If your silicone, steel, or glass toys don’t have motors (most dildos don’t, but if yours vibrates, it does), you can boil them for 3 to 4 minutes or run them through the dishwasher (top rack, no soap, no dishes) to fully disinfect them. As steel and glass toys can retain heat, allow them to cool thoroughly after boiling or running through the dishwasher.

Whatever method you use to clean your dildo, please make sure it is 100% dry before putting it away. Regardless of the material it’s made of, putting a toy away wet or damp can breed mold or mildew or, at the very least, leave your dildo smelling funky, and that’s no fun. 


Where can you get dildo cleaner?

A super-simple way to clean your dildos is to use a special sex toy cleaner. It’s a quick and easy option that you can use to disinfect your toy without harming it, but keep in mind, it is not as effective as actually washing your toy. Sex toy cleaners are a great option for moments when just can’t get up to clean your toy (after a super-intense orgasm, perhaps?), but you’ll definitely want to give it a for-real wash before you use the toy again. As for where to get a cleaner for your dildo, Pink Cherry’s got your back! Check out our sex toy cleaner collection!

 

Why wash a dildo before use?

By now we’re all pretty clear on why it’s a good idea to clean your dildo after using it, but what about before? This might sound unnecessary and is certainly less of a “must-do” than washing after use but remember, your dildo can pick up lint, dust, and more between uses (especially if it's made of soft material) so consider giving it a wash beforehand to keep that stuff away from your nether regions.   

 

Or You Could Use Condoms

If washing your dildo still seems like more than you want to commit to, you could always use condoms instead. The thing is, with toys made from porous materials, even cleaning them properly can still leave bacteria behind. Enter condoms! Putting a new one on your toy every time you use it will keep it totally clean. This is also a great idea if you want to share your dildo with a partner. 

 

Be Aware of How You Store Your Dildo

Earlier, we mentioned that dildos could be exposed to lint and dust between uses. A super-easy way to avoid that is to forgo sticking your dildo directly into your nightstand drawer and instead store it in its original packaging, a plastic container, or even a bag or case designed for hygienic sex toy storage

So there you have it, folks! If you want to love your dildo for years to come and keep your body safe and healthy, proper cleaning is where it’s at. So go forth in pleasure and keep it clean! 

 

If you have more questions like what is a dildohow to use a dildoare dildos allowed on planes, and what is the difference between a dildo vs vibrator, read our linked blogs!

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Written By: JoEllen Notte

JoEllen Notte is a writer, speaker, sex educator, and mental health advocate whose work explores the impact of depression on sex and relationships. Since 2012 she has written about sex, mental health, and how none of us are broken on her award-winning site The Redhead Bedhead as well as for Glamour, The BBC, Bitch, PsychCentral, and more. JoEllen is the author of The Monster Under the Bed: Sex, Depression, and the Conversations We Aren’t Having.