Washing sex toys before you use them as well will ensure they don't transmit anything harmful into your body, which can help you avoid issues like yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis. “Toys can attract dust and dirt while being stored in drawers, which can have a drastic effect on your vaginal pH,” sex and relationship coach Mike Anderson tells GLAMOUR US. Once you've cleaned your sex toy du jour, let it air-dry or wipe it down with a dry washcloth.

Be sure to not boil soft porous toys or anything that turns on,” she says. “I find a washcloth makes it easy to clean nonwaterproof toys safely.” If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we should all try to be more mindful about sanitization — especially when it comes to the most sensitive areas of your body. While it may not seem sexy, cleaning your sex toys can just be another (perhaps the last) step when you masturbate or play with a partner. Just as you wash your body after sex and rigorously wash your hands after…well, touching anything, cleaning sex toys is crucial to being as safe and healthy as possible. If the toy is made of a plastic material, alcohol-based cleaners can potentially degrade the outer coating of the toy over time, Scoca say. To avoid erosion, one should clean their toy with a damp cloth. FYI: If you have pets, that “other debris” will likely include pet hair, and that gets on everything.percent silicone, glass, and steel toys can also be cleaned with liquid soap or a toy cleaner and then air dried,” Deysach says.

Alcohol-based cleaners: If your sex toy is silicone, glass, or stainless steel, it will be compatible with most sex-toy cleansers including alcohol-based cleaners, according to Pam Scoca, Senior Manager of Product and Compliance at Maude. The beauty of nonporous toys is that, as long as they’re not motorized, can even be boiled or run through the dishwasher.

Turn on the spin cycle, take a seat, and let the washing machine do all the work while it cleans your laundry. Oh yeah, and it works for sex, too — intercourse on top of the laundry machine can be incredibly stimulating and erotic. Silicone, Pyrex, stainless steel, or stone—and it's not motorized: For a deeper clean, place it in boiling water for eight to 10 minutes, or run it through the dishwasher without soap. (Seriously, the hot steam will help sterilize it, says Kerr.)