Hi, I'm pretty new to this all so I just need a little advice about how do you keep your toy clean, I have several bouts of thrush and the only new thing that I have in my sexual diet is the toy. Any suggestions would be good :)
Love honey do a toy clearer may b advisable ....
It may be that you have sensitive skin and the particular toy isnt suitable for your body? The first toys I tried gave me erm.....discomfort I'll run with!
Lube can cause discomfort too.
Since then I've found silicone and glass great materials and haven't had any uncomfort since.
But above all, it's very important to clean your toys. A good quality sex toy cleaner would be a great investment 💖xx
I rinse with warm water spritz with cleaner rinse again. Wipe them dry prior to storage. I will also rinse spritz and rinse prior to use after storage.
I use the Doc Johnson antibacterial toy cleaner and it keeps my toys in tip top condition! Make sure you rinse before and after use. It could be the material causing irritation as Slinky said, are you using any toys made from Rubber? X
I clean it before and after, then store it in the little bag...I will look into a different lube, that might be the irritation :)
IHaveArrived wrote:
I clean it before and after, then store it in the little bag...I will look into a different lube, that might be the irritation :)
I'm prone to thrush and we always use the Lovehoney flavoured lubes.....they seem to suit me well x
I rinse with warm water spritz with cleaner rinse again. Wipe them dry prior to storage. I will also rinse spritz and rinse prior to use after storage.
Perfect advise here from :)
I try to buy only waterproof toys for easy cleaning, and I do buy only safe materials (silicone, ABS if can't avoid that, glass, ceramic, metal). I wash under hot tap water using my antibacterial intimate wash and let everything air dry in between two layers of clean bathroom towels. I store each toy in its own individual and previously machine washed polyester bag from Lovehoney. I know you are supposed to wash them before use too, but I usually don't and never had issues. I am a sort of hygiene freak, I might add.
I'm doing pretty much the same thing as era, except I don't own any intimate wash (but a bottle of Betadine in addition to my liquid hand soap) and I wrap my toys into paper towels instead of storage bags.
All cleaning is more a question of technique than of detergent. A spritz of something or other and a cursory rinse (or wipe off) is not what I call cleaning. In my book cleanings consists of thoroughly wetting with (preferably soaking in) hot water, applying detergent, rubbing or scrubbing the item till it's visibly and feelably squeeky clean and then thorough rinsing and drying. Works for most things...
IHaveArrived wrote:
I clean it before and after, then store it in the little bag...I will look into a different lube, that might be the irritation :)
If thrush is your main problem, go for a lubricant that gas zero glycerine / sugar in it. Our own-brand lubes, and Sliquid lubes, should all be perfectly safe for you.
Good luck! :)
Talia wrote:
...
All cleaning is more a question of technique than of detergent. A spritz of something or other and a cursory rinse (or wipe off) is not what I call cleaning. In my book cleanings consists of thoroughly wetting with (preferably soaking in) hot water, applying detergent, rubbing or scrubbing the item till it's visibly and feelably squeeky clean and then thorough rinsing and drying. Works for most things...
Yep, I do agree with this.
If the toy is suitable put it through the dishwasher, no bugs after that at all, the same reason you can dishwasher babies bottles.
era wrote:
Talia wrote:
...
All cleaning is more a question of technique than of detergent. A spritz of something or other and a cursory rinse (or wipe off) is not what I call cleaning. In my book cleanings consists of thoroughly wetting with (preferably soaking in) hot water, applying detergent, rubbing or scrubbing the item till it's visibly and feelably squeeky clean and then thorough rinsing and drying. Works for most things...
Yep, I do agree with this.
I'll give it a go and see if that is any better :)
IHaveArrived wrote:
era wrote:
Talia wrote:
...
All cleaning is more a question of technique than of detergent. A spritz of something or other and a cursory rinse (or wipe off) is not what I call cleaning. In my book cleanings consists of thoroughly wetting with (preferably soaking in) hot water, applying detergent, rubbing or scrubbing the item till it's visibly and feelably squeeky clean and then thorough rinsing and drying. Works for most things...
Yep, I do agree with this.
I'll give it a go and see if that is any better :)
I wish I had a dishwasher...
Most of my toys are not dishwasher-proof, so it has to be manual cleaning for me.
I also used to be prone to thrush (ouch - hate that stingy itch) and am very careful with my clean-up methods. First and foremost, though, make sure you're not passing it back and forth between yourself and your partner. If needs be, get a prescription or OTC cream/pessary and get rid completely.
Make sure your cleaning routine is up to scratch. I hate the get-out-of-bed-instant-clean-up so invested in Lovehoney's wipes. I've also used those flushable washlets. Once that's out of the way I can relax. Next step is cleaning them when I do get up. I use Lovehoney's cleaner. I know I'm guilty of stating it's a quick spritz, but it really isn't. My toys get a thorough washing before being dried with a paper towel then left to air for a bit. It's a bit like hand-washing. You can do it the lazy way and still be full of germs or you can do it the thorough way and get hygienically clean. I do believe that it was Talia in another thread that said getting dirty doesn't mean being unhygienic - great quote, Talia (apologies if it was someone else). I can't nag (preach!) enough about cleaning properly - you wouldn't let a doctor near you with a dirty speculum when you go for a smear, would you?
Once a week, I use an anti-bac spritz like this: http://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=27189 As I'm pretty sensitive, I'll still use the LH cleaner to wash any spritzed toy before use.
I use Liquid Silk as my go-to lube. As well as a great lube, it's bio-static, so no nasties can breed in use. This is very re-assuring for me as I suffer with Interstitial Cystitis and the slightest inbalance will set me off. I've not had a bout since starting to use this, whereas with the organic lubes, I'd be getting regular infections.
The good news is that once you get rid of any possible lingering yeast infection and get into the swing of the clean-up, you'll have no more painful, itchy outbreaks.
VR wrote: ....
. I do believe that it was Talia in another thread that said getting dirty doesn't mean being unhygienic - great quote, Talia (apologies if it was someone else)....
It's very unlikely that I've written something like this, because I absolutely hate the whole "sex is dirty" idea - even if it's just a figure of speech.
I have however wondered whether that's what people (subconsciously?) believe - otherwise I really don't see why they are prepared to pay £ 4.99 for 100 ml for a detergent whose ingredients are very similar to something you can buy at € 0.99 for 1000 ml. But then I've never seen the need for specialized cleaners for other areas of life either...
Back to thrush: You haven't been taking antibiotics prior to the bout, have you? 'Cause that's when I had mine - completely unrelated to sex, toys or hygiene! (And even when the GP had promised "you won't get thrush from these antibiotics").