After another amazing date with your favorite vibrator—and while in a state of buzzy-buddy-induced bliss—you may be tempted to toss your sex toy under the bed and forget about it until your next sex session. But health and sex experts say that the benefits of cleaning your sex toy seriously outweigh the downsides of interrupting your post-O afterglow.
The quick and dirty reason sex toys need cleaning is that, by design, they come into contact with all sorts of goos, juice, and germs, explains board-certified ob-gyn Melanie Bone, MD, the U.S. Medical Director at virtual women’s health clinic Daye. “Cleaning sex toys after use ensures that you’re removing all the bodily fluids, bacteria, dead skin, lubricants, and oils they may have come into contact with during use,” she says. Fluids like squirt, semen, and ejaculate can all carry bacteria, viral particles, and parasites that transmit common sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and HPV, says board-certified ob-gyn Sherry Ross, MD, FACOG, author of She-ology and She-ology, the She-quel.
“Even if you’re not sharing your toys, cleaning after each use is important as it prevents the build-up and growth of bacteria that could disrupt the vaginal microbiome,” says Dr. Bone. A healthy vaginal microbiome helps reduce your risk of infections, while an unbalanced microbiome rockets your risk for yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, UTIs, and other vaginal infections, she says.
Not to mention, anal sex toys like butt plugs, anal beads, and prostate massagers come into contact with microscopic fecal particles, which can transmit hepatitis A and B, as well as intestinal parasites like Giardia and bacteria like E. coli and Shigella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For this reason, using a sex toy anally and then inserting it vaginally without washing is a big no-no, says Dr. Ross. The transfer of anal bacteria into the vaginal canal will disrupt the vaginal microbiome and increase the risk of infection, she explains.
This might all sound scary, but the potential risks of using an unwashed sex toy shouldn’t deter you from using sex toys altogether! “Sex toys can create sensations that we cannot create with our bodies alone, introduce us to new pathways of pleasure, and help you break-out of your routine, whether you’re on your own or playing with a partner,” says sexologist Jessica O’Reilly, PhD, host of the Sex With Dr. Jess podcast and co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Seduction and Foreplay. The takeaway is simply that it is important to clean your sex toys after every use.
So, how the heck do you clean your sex toys, exactly? As you’ll see below, the specific steps vary based on what material(s) your pleasure products are made of—but once you get the hang of it, the whole process will take less than a minute. Read on for a sex toy cleaning guide, complete with instructions for washing, drying, and storing your go-to pleasure aids.
