Can I use hand sanitiser to wash my sex toys?

Adult Match Maker on 2 April 2020    12 comments
Attractive woman in medical coat and glasses ready to answer sex related questions

Q: I was just wondering, with all the soaps and hand sanitisers being bought lately, can we use that stuff to clean sex toys?

Look, to be perfectly blunt, the short answer is no. Do not use anything other than proper toy cleaner to clean your sex toys.

The longer answer is still no... But I'll explain why, and add a couple of caveats when it comes to certain soaps. 

The big thing about hand sanitisers is they contain alcohol and other antiseptics that can be really harsh on not only the material of your sex toy, but also on the delicate skin and inside bits where sex toys go. 

While sure, you want to make sure your vulva, vagina, penis and testicles are kept clean and healthy, you really don't want to be drying them out with harsh chemicals or wrecking the delicate pH balance of your internal bits by introducing the ingredients of a harsh cleaner. 

Soaps are pretty much the same. While they don't contain alcohol, they are full of very strong bacteria-killing agents that can do the same sort of things as hand sanitisers like drying out the area and effecting the pH balances inside you. 

There are some soaps that, in a pinch, you can use on toys without too much issue. These are antibacterial soaps that don't actually contain soap. QV is one such brand, as well as Dove, and there are some of the femme fresh type vaginal washes you can get that are also not harsh for the area and should help clean the toys as well. 

But really, toy cleaners are usually under $20 and are 100% specifically made and designed to clean and sanitise your toys without any damage to the product itself or you. 

And in this time of constant vigilance with hand washing... Keep the hand sanitiser for what it's meant to be for; keeping you and your loved ones safe and healthy and away from Coronavirus. 

Check out your local adult shop online for good cleaners and (usually) next day delivery to your front door. I hope this helps! 

And remember, stay inside and always wash your hands.

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Comments (12)

  • Newloon

    Newloon
    66M Kuluin, QLD,
     AU

    This article is just wrong! Its simply a direction to buy product. Sanitisers are fine for sex toys. The alcohol evaporates in 15 seconds ffs!
    >4w
    • KinkyGirl101

      KinkyGirl101
      50F QLD,
       AU

      Perhaps you need to do a little more research before launching into mansplaining something you know nothing about. If I'm going to spend $200+ on a good quality silicone pleasure object I can assure you I'm going to use a product designed to clean that material, not a hand sanitiser. Feel free to offer advice when you own a vagina.
      >4w
    • DeliciousEva

      DeliciousEva
      48F Reservoir, VIC,
       AU

      Yes. It's a direction to buy the proper product for the right job.
      Well spotted.
      >4w
    • Newloon

      Newloon
      66M Kuluin, QLD,
       AU

      Kinkybgirl. When youre caught out go for cheap ad hominen arguments!
      First you yourself offer NO science...all you have offered is unsubstantiated assertion
      Second the sexism in your response to me is puerile and ridiculous. Since when were sex toys exclusively for women? Your 'mansplaining' comment is beneath my dignity to comment upon...save to say that it tells us all more about you than it does about me!
      Third what you use to clean your sex toys is YOUR business and I have no problem with that.....but .that wasnt the thrust of your original comments. The main thrust of your comments as I have already pointed out was product marketing.
      >4w
    • SUMMERTIME60

      SUMMERTIME60
      64M Perth, WA,
       AU

      I agree with Newloom
      I have used it for years but after sanitizer wipe with wet tissue or cloth or wash n wipe
      >4w
    Reply
  • triXXXi66

    triXXXi66
    58F 58M SA,
     AU

    I don't think they are talking about the alcohol so much as the other ingredients of hand sanitisers that could certainly change the ph of the vagina.
    >4w
    Reply
  • sexintheday

    sexintheday
    Account closed

    And where can u buy hand sanitizer these days
    >4w
    Reply
  • Leatherz

    Leatherz
    Account closed

    Oh sheeeeeet!
    We've just tossed our toys into the dishwasher.
    Have done so for years, not that we'd place electrical toys in the dishwasher - our Sybian wouldn't fit!
    Mrs Leather even tried to cuff me to the inside of the dishwasher and give me a "quick rinse" I deserve, but couldn't get the door shut!
    So, who would an invitation to our next naughty dinner party and eat off our plates?
    That is once Covid-19 isolation lifts...
    Have fun.
    Leathers ; )
    >4w
    • DeliciousEva

      DeliciousEva
      48F Reservoir, VIC,
       AU

      Dishwasher is great for silicone, glass and metal toys with no battery packs etc. Boiling them works too.
      Just make sure they're definitely silicone. Or they'll melt.
      But you'll know the minute you open the dishwasher if that's the case. Haha.
      Happy quarantining to you xx
      >4w
    Reply
  • bbwforyou69

    bbwforyou69
    51F QLD,
     AU

    I cringed at the thought of using a hand sanitiser on any of my toys! Probably because it's way too harsh to even use on my skin
    I mostly just use a soap free hand wash with warm water. For any anal toys I will also use the Doc Johnson toy cleaner too, but then finish with the hand wash 15 minutes later as I have very sensitive skin.
    >4w
    Reply
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