A body-safe silicone toy does not need much. It does need consistency. The difference between a piece that still feels new after two years and one that has gone tacky and dull in six months is almost never the material — it is what happens in the five minutes after each use.
Here is the routine, in the order you will actually do it.
1. Clean it before the first use
New toys are handled during manufacturing, packing and shipping. Wash it once before it goes anywhere near your body, exactly the same way you will wash it afterwards. There is nothing special about a "first clean" — it is just the first one.
2. Clean after every use — and before switching between people or orifices
Warm water, a small amount of mild fragrance-free soap, or a dedicated toy cleaner. Work it over the whole surface with your fingers, paying attention to texture: ridges, suckers, knots, texture ribs and the base of a plug are where residue hides.
Then rinse thoroughly. Soap left on the surface is more irritating than anything the toy itself could do.
If a toy is being shared, or moving from one person's body to another's, it needs to be washed in between. That is not a formality — it is the single most effective hygiene step there is.
3. What to clean with — and what to never use
Fine to use:
- Warm water with a mild, fragrance-free, pH-balanced soap
- A purpose-made toy cleaner
- A soft cloth or your own hands
Do not use:
- Alcohol, bleach, acetone, nail polish remover or household disinfectants — they break down the surface and leave residue
- Anything abrasive, including scouring pads and harsh brushes
- Dishwasher cycles on non-waterproof items
Boiling and sanitising: 100% silicone with no motors, no batteries, no wiring and no glued inserts can be boiled briefly, or washed with a diluted bleach solution and rinsed extremely thoroughly — this is how people sanitise silicone between partners. If the toy contains a motor, a control panel, a charging port or any electronics at all, do not boil it and do not soak it. Follow the powered-toy steps further down instead.
4. The lubricant rule for silicone
Use water-based lubricant with silicone toys. Silicone-based lubricant can bond with and soften the surface of a silicone toy, leaving it permanently tacky; it also makes the surface hold dust.
Two secondary notes that save people money: water-based lubricant dries out and needs re-applying, and oil-based lubricant is not compatible with latex barriers, so if you are using condoms, water-based is the default choice anyway.
5. Dry it properly — this is the step people skip
Moisture is what grows things. After washing:
- Shake off excess water.
- Pat dry with a clean, lint-free towel or a paper towel.
- Air-dry completely before putting it away — including inside any hollow areas, and including the base of a suction cup.
Never put a damp toy back in a closed bag or drawer. That is how a clean toy becomes an unpleasant one.
6. Store it so it stays clean
- Separate pouch per toy. A cotton or satin drawstring bag is ideal. It keeps dust off and stops toys from touching each other.
- Keep silicone away from TPE and jelly toys. Plasticisers migrate from cheap materials onto silicone and leave it sticky. Store them in different places.
- Out of direct sunlight and away from heat. Heat deforms silicone and destroys internal electronics.
- Lay flat, not standing on the base for heavy pieces, so the suction cup does not take constant pressure.
7. Caring for powered toys
A powered toy is two products in one: a silicone body you can wash normally, and an electronics package you cannot. Treat the body like every other toy in this guide, and the electronics like a small appliance.
Wipe, do not soak. Clean the silicone with a damp cloth and a drop of toy cleaner rather than running it under the tap. Keep water away from the control panel, the charging port, the seam where the motor housing meets the silicone, and any button or dial.
Know your water rating. Many powered toys are splash- or rinse-resistant rather than submersible, and some are not water-resistant at all. A toy being made of silicone says nothing about whether the motor can handle water. If you do not know the rating, assume it cannot be submerged.
Charging, in the right order.
- Let the toy dry completely before it goes on the charger — every time. Moisture in a charging port is the single most common way a perfectly good toy dies.
- Use the cable it came with. Cheap third-party adapters can deliver the wrong voltage and cook the battery.
- Charge on a dry, room-temperature surface — not in a steamy bathroom, not on a radiator, not under a pillow.
- Unplug once it is full rather than leaving it on the charger for days.
Battery longevity. For rechargeable models, store the toy at roughly half charge if it will sit unused for months, rather than completely empty. A lithium battery left flat for a long time may not come back. If the toy takes replaceable batteries, take them out before storage — leaked batteries corrode the compartment and cannot be repaired.
Motor and cable care. Do not run a motor at full speed for long stretches, and let it rest if the housing feels warm. Do not pull the toy by the cable, and do not coil the cable tightly around the body — repeated bending at the connector is what breaks it. Store the cable in the same pouch as the toy so it does not get lost.
Lubricant matters here too. Water-based lubricant only. Silicone-based and oil-based lubricants can degrade the seals and soften the surface around the motor housing over time.
If it stops working, work through this order before assuming it is dead: dry the charging port, try a different cable and wall adapter, charge for a full cycle, then test again. If it is still lifeless, contact us with the order number — most faults are cable or port related rather than the motor itself.
8. Check the surface from time to time
Once a month, run a fingertip over the whole surface in good light and look for:
- small tears or splits, especially at the base of a plug or along a seam
- a tacky, sticky or dull patch that washing does not fix
- discoloured spots
- on electronic models, a loose connector or a port that no longer clicks
A non-porous toy with a small tear is no longer non-porous. Retire it. That is not waste — that is the material doing its job by showing you where it failed.
A cheat sheet you can actually remember
| When | Do this |
|---|---|
| Before first use | Wash, rinse, dry |
| After every use | Warm water + mild soap or toy cleaner |
| Between partners | Wash again, every time |
| Sharing surfaces | One pouch per toy |
| Lubricant | Water-based only |
| Powered toys | Wipe, never soak; dry before charging |
| Monthly | Check for tears and tackiness |
| Sunlight & heat | Keep away from both |
The payoff
Treated well, a body-safe silicone toy lasts years and still feels like the day it arrived — the surface stays matte rather than greasy, the detail stays crisp, and you never have to wonder whether it is really clean.
That is the whole point of paying for good material. Care is what collects the return.
Related: [why material matters more than shape in anal plugs, dildos and masturbators](#) · [how we ship, discreetly](#).