How to Make Your Dildo Last as Long as Possible

Once you spend your coins on a good dildo, you want it to last as long as possible. Especially if the company stops making that particular model or size or if you spent a long time looking for the perfect toy. The things that help your dildo last as long as possible also make sure it’s ready to use whenever you’re ready to play, so take note.

These are the things you need to do so your favorite sex toy continues to feel amazing.

Use Lube (and the Right Kind)

Friction doesn’t just feel harsh or painful on your body. It can cause micro (and macro!) tears in your dildo, too, especially if your toy is made from the softer, more porous materials. Using a lube helps your dildo glide smoothly wherever you put it and keeps you comfortable. It also helps it maintain it’s shape, feel, and firmness, too. Micro tears can also harbor bacteria over time which makes it unsafe to use.

It’s not enough to lube up. You need to use the right kind of lube, too. Water-based lubricant is good for any material. Avoid oil or silicone lubes with dildos made from TPR/TPE, jelly, rubber, neoprene, and even silicone. These lubes cause the material to break down over time. Glass and metal dildos can handle any kind of lube, though, so choose whatever you love most.

Clean Your Dildo

Always, always, always clean your dildo when you’re done playing with it. If it’s made of silicone, metal, or glass, you can clean and sterilize it in boiling water or in the top rack of your dishwasher. For dildos made of any other material, only use soap and warm water. Porous materials like jelly, rubber, TPE/TPE, and other “realistic” material can’t handle the heat of boiling water or a dishwasher. You could literally melt your dildo. This also means you can never fully sterilize it and kill any bacteria on it.

Not cleaning your dildo means that bacteria and mold have free range to grow. For porous materials, you’ll never be able to fully sterilize it if this happens, so toss it out if it looks discolored or starts to smell funny. For silicone, metal, or glass dildos you can probably salvage it, but why go through that when a quick clean keeps it in good condition?

Store Your Dildos Properly

For silicone, metal, or glass dildos, there’s no real rule to follow. We always recommend using the dust bag or a special box or container to store any sex toy. This prevents dust, hair, crumbs, and other nasties from coating your dildo. When you’re ready to play, you want your favorite toy to be ready, too.

For dildos made of jelly, rubber, TPE/TPR, neoprene, and other porous materials, storage is extremely important. Do not store any toy made of this material with another toy made of the same material. They can congeal together. Also, keep in a cool, dark, dry place. Avoid direct sunlight and heat or your dildo might melt.

Use the Right Condom

If you share your dildo with a partner (and don’t know their STI status or they have been diagnosed with an STI), a condom continues to be a great option. Condoms are also great if you want to reduce clean-up after your own solo or partnered play. We also recommend condoms if you use a dildo made of the porous materials we keep mentioning — jelly, rubber, neoprene, TPR/TPE, etc. You still need to clean your toy, but this helps protect you from whatever bacteria might be on it. (Note: It reduces the risk but does not completely prevent it.)

But you want to be careful about the type of condom you select. Pick the wrong one and you could ruin your dildo.

• For porous materials (jelly, rubber, etc), stick with polyurethane or nitrile condoms as latex can react badly with the dildo.
• For both silicone dildos and the porous materials, choose condoms without lube and add your own water-based lubricant. Many pre-lubed condoms use silicone lube which will be incompatible with these dildos.

Conclusion

How often you use your dildo, what position, and how rough you like it might have some impact on the life of your dildo. But it’s real longevity comes down to the products you use with it (lube and condoms) and how you clean and store it. If you take care of your dildo, it’ll be around a long time to take care of you.