Bedroom Insider

A blog about relationships, intimacy and sex toys.


Thursday, July 13, 2017

When to Replace Sex Toys

Sex toys
You can now buy sex toys are your corner pharmacy, which means that more people than ever own a vibrator, dildo or butt plug (and some of us own quite a few of each!). Of course, few things last forever. Glass breaks, motors die, and softened plastics lose their integrity. What are the signs that a toy has provided its last pleasure and that you need a new one? Find out!


Not All Materials Are Equal


Jelly toys are porous, to begin with, which means you can never quite clean them all the way. Aside from not sharing your jelly you, you'll want to replace it (potentially with a body-safe sex toy) more frequently than nonporous toys. The porousness means that infections could potential infest your toy, so you'll want to replace those toys as soon as you realize you have a bacterial, yeast or sexually-transmitted infection just to be on the safe side. Needless to say, you want to ditch any toys that cause a reaction or infection because those toys are not compatible with your body!

Similarly, you shouldn't use porous toys vaginally after anal insertion. Not everyone knows this, however, so you may have used a toy that couldn't be sterilized in both orifices. As soon as you realize this fact, however, you'll want to get new toys for vaginal use (although, you could keep the toy for anal use).

Eventually, however, porous toys will often become stained or pick up smells that you can no longer remove no matter how diligently you clean those toys. This is, again, related to the toy's porosity.

Toys made from jelly and similar materials will eventually start leaching the chemicals that are used to produce a soft texture. They'll become oily and quite unappetizing if we're being honest. When jelly toys are stored together, they can become misshapen, fused together, and discolored during this process. At first sign of this leaching, you should toss your toy and not risk your health by using it any longer.

Although sometimes billed as safer than jelly/latex/PVC, TPE is another material that is softened with a chemical – mineral oil – and toys made from TPE will experience a similar effect over time. TPR is a similar substance that will suffer the same fate.

Chemical leaching over time and porosity isn't an issue with all soft sex toys, however. Silicone is a stable material that has no pores, allowing you to fully sterilize your toys (without motors or seams). In fact, you can even light silicone on fire safely (you'll need to wipe away some soot, but it won't damage your toy!).

The softest of silicones may leach a bit of silicone over time, but this is comparable to silicone-based lube and doesn't make the toy less safe to use. Harder silicones won't suffer this fate (nor do you need to worry about a reaction when storing your silicone sex toys close together), and you could feasibly keep a silicone sex toy for your entire life!

There is one exception, however. If you use silicone-based lube with your toys of the same material, a reaction will occur. The surface of the toy will become gummy. If you notice this, assume your toy is no longer nonporous and consider replacing it (and being more careful with lube in the future!).

Toys from inert materials including metal, glass, plastic, ceramic and treated wood could potentially provide a lifelong relationship. You could even will your favorite stainless steel dildo to someone upon your passing! Short of breaking your toy, you can keep them forever. This is why so many sex toy reviewers and bloggers recommend upgrading from your unsafe jelly toys, which have a limited lifespan, to body-safe materials.