Toy Maintenance
Maintaining TPE
Maintaining your TPE toys can be a bit tricky if you're trying to be both discreet and responsible. Sure, you can just toss them anywhere you want and store them in any old container and they'll mostly be fine. But neglect will drastically shorten their lifespan, and so this guide will arm you with all the information you need to keep your toys fresh, clean, and feeling like new.
If you haven't stopped by our Materials information guide, it's a great resource for understanding in detail what TPE and silicone are.
The #1 Killer of TPE: Mold
When you own a TPE toy, mold is the thing that you are fighting against. By far it is the thing that will cause you to throw out your toy prematurely.
We've established in the "Materials" section that TPE is porous. So when mold develops in your toys, THROW THEM OUT! There is no way to remove mold once it's developed on TPE, without degrading the structural integrity of the toy itself. Removing the mold requires harsh chemicals. Chemicals you want nowhere near your genitals.
So how do we stop this?
To answer this correctly we're going to need to understand the cause of it. Mold is caused by three things:
- Organic material left to sit
- Heat
- Humidity
Onaholes provide a fantastic spot for these three things to occur.
Organic material doesn't just mean bodily fluids, it also includes impurities in water or ingredients in lube like aloe. Onaholes have unique textures throughout the internals, and all those small bumps, crevices, hills, indents etc. provide the perfect spot for organic material to sit.
Heat
Ingredient #2 required for mold is heat. But more importantly, heat that is trapped. Warming up your TPE toy will only enhance the experience of using it, but leaving it warm will advance the growth of mold. Warm in this context can mean room temperature or above.
The often repeated advice for storing almost anything, is keep in a cool, dry place. The same applies for your TPE. While it's fun to use your toys in the shower, do not leave them there.
Humidity
This is the ingredient you will fight against the most, and if you can control this, you will likely avoid mold issues altogether.
Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air. In this context, we care about the amount of humidity in the air, inside the onahole. Trapped water vapor is moisture, and moisture is a breeding ground for mold. Therefore, if we can control the moisture, then there's nothing for mold to grow in.
Thankfully, controlling moisture is just a matter of due diligence.
After you wash your onahole, drying it becomes just as important. See below for more information on this, but the most important step to remember here is to dry you toy COMPLETELY. Do not let it sit to "dry itself".
Humidity when storing your TPE toys can be a cumulative effect. Inside your toy might have a small amount of moisture. Seal it in a tight ziplock bag and now that moisture can't escape. Placing that bag into another enclosed area further exacerbates the issue.
Air circulation is your friend!
The air moving around and in your toy aids in evaporation. So it's better to have any trapped water in your toy be a thin layer that's spread out vs a small puddle or large droplets. Whatever you choose to store them in, make sure they have room to breathe.
Cleaning TPE
The most straight forward and effective advice for cleaning TPE is this: Keep It Simple.
You do not need any chemicals or disinfectants, alcohol, exfoliants or anything else. Remember, TPE is porous! Whatever chemical you put onto the TPE, will seep into the TPE, which means it likely gets onto your skin. Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) for example is a solvent, and has no business being rubbed on your TPE toys to help aid in evaporation of moisture. There's no need for hand sanitizer either.
Soap and water is all you need.
A mild soap is the best option. Mild, meaning a light scent or no scent, no exfoliants, no "oil control" that's designed to remove oils (TPE has oil in it, required to keep it's softness). DOVE makes an excellent mild soap, but so do we ;) Aetherwash is made in Canada, and has been tested on TPE onaholes to gently remove stains or discolouring without harming the TPE.
Whichever soap you choose, just keep it simple.
Drying TPE
This also follows the rule above of Keep It Simple, though there are a couple of tools and techniques to use to ensure no mold growth will occur.
Pat Dry
TPE is soft and is prone to flaking. So aggressive rubbing is likely going to cause some micro tears in the toy that will flake off. It's recommended to only pat dry your toy with a soft towel.
Drying The Inside
To dry the inside of your toy, there are some very simple techniques you can use to make sure there's no left over moisture.
- The Squash And Stuff Method
Since we know that TPE has an impressive tear resistance, we also know it's easily compressible. So, grab a clean towel and insert it into the opening of the toy. Squash (compress) the toy down and stuff the towel deeper. Wipe the towel around the internals to dry it out.
- Manual Air Compressor Method
Mentioned above, it's best to have a thinner layer of moisture spread out over a larger surface, then having that moisture collect and puddle in a single location. Grab any small manual air compressor (for tires, balls, balloons, a turkey baster, a douche) and gently insert it as far as needed into the toy. Start blowing air around gently to remove excess moisture. - Aquarium Pump
This is the most expensive route, but if you're spending $1000 or $2000 on a full size doll or torso, this option should not be ignored. The aquarium pump will continually circulate air around the cavity, drying it out. - Low Heat Hair Dryer
This is a viable option particularly if your hair dryer has a tube like extension attachment. - Drying Sticks
Very easy to get a hold of, they are long sticks made from an absorbent material. Insert the stick into the desired hole, and leave it for up to 24hrs. Remove the stick, and that's it.
Renewing Your TPE
In order to keep your toys feeling soft and non-stick, they will need some occasional refreshing. And the best product to use for this, is our very own Rejuvenation Powder! It's a combination of 3 ingredients that's safe to use on TPE and skin. Proprietary in it's formula, but consists of basic ingredients:
- Cornstarch
- Tapioca starch
- Arrowroot starch
Why Do You Need This?
All TPE toys will develop a tackiness to them, especially after a good wash. This means dirt, hair, fuzz etc. will stick to your TPE toy, and can make it feel like cheap playdough, undoing all the effort you just put in to cleaning it. To avoid this, apply powder using any of the ingredients listed above. The powder will refresh your TPE and give it a matte finish that is free from tackiness.
A Caution Against Using Baby Powder
Baby powder can contain Talc. Talc is a mineral that is "probably carcinogenic (cancer causing)", according to the WHO. So be extra careful that the brand you by is free from this. There are 100% cornstarch baby powders out there that work just fine.