Sex Toy Cleaner or Soap? How to Wash Up After a Very Good Time

Your vibrator has put in a very decent shift. You're lying there grinning, and it's lying there sticky. It needs a wash, not a solemn farewell under the doona until next weekend.

But do you need to buy a special cleaner? For most washable toys, mild unscented soap and warm water will do the job. A dedicated toy cleaner is another option, not a compulsory extra. Here's how to choose.

Soap: cheap and effective

Soap lifts lube and everything else so you can rinse it away. On a washable toy, a gentle wash with mild unscented soap is perfectly sensible. Get into the grooves and ridges, as they're where all the good times tend to linger.

Go easy on perfume. Your toy doesn't need to smell like a tropical cocktail, and your bits don't need scented soap along for the next round. Then rinse it thoroughly. If it still feels slippery, that's soap, and it belongs in the sink, not in you.

So why buy toy cleaner?

Convenience, mostly. It's nice to keep a bottle with your toys, especially when you can't be arsed walking to the bathroom after a big one. Clean AF Foaming Toy Cleaner is a tea tree foam with a fast, easy rinse. Wet Stuff Clean is an Aussie spray that comes from hard-surface sanitising experts. There's more in our toy cleaner range.

They don't all work the same way, as some need rinsing and others get wiped off. And a hopeful spritz over a toy still covered in lube won't do the job, so wipe the mess off first. If mild soap already works for you, there's no need to assemble a bedroom cleaning trolley.

Clean isn't the same as sterile

A fresh-looking toy isn't necessarily disinfected. Neither soap nor the words "toy cleaner" promise that every germ has gone. That matters most when toys are shared, so clean them between people and use a fresh condom where a toy can be covered. Toy cleaner's for the toy, too. Don't use it to wash inside your body.

Keep water away from the motor

A washable surface isn't the same as a waterproof housing. Keep water out of charging ports, battery compartments and non-waterproof controls, and use a damp cloth around those areas. Wash any removable sleeve separately from its powered case. One enthusiastic dunk of the whole thing is an expensive shortcut.

Dry it before it goes back

Clean, rinse where needed, then dry properly. Sealing a damp toy away doesn't do tomorrow-you any favours, especially with moisture sitting inside a sleeve. Our sex toy storage guide covers where to put it all afterwards, and our masturbator care guide handles the fiddly bits.

You can spend ages choosing what makes you moan. Choosing what washes it afterwards can be a lot less dramatic.