Every piece we sell is platinum-cured silicone. It is non-porous, so residue stays on the surface where you can wash it off, and it tolerates boiling water and diluted bleach without changing. That makes it the easiest toy material to keep clean. It is not indestructible: how you wash, dry, store and lubricate a piece decides whether it lasts years or goes sticky in a season.
This page is the short version of the routine. The longer one, with the reasoning, is in the care article. Everything here applies to every Oieffur product.
After every use
- Rinse under warm running water.
- Apply a small amount of mild, unscented soap. Liquid hand soap is fine.
- Work the soap over the whole surface. Spend the extra seconds on grooves, the underside of a knot or head, sucker arrays, and the gap between the two parts of a two-piece design.
- Rinse until no soap remains.
- Pat dry with a lint-free cloth or leave to air dry completely.
Do not put it away wet. Trapped moisture will not harm the silicone, but it will grow mildew on a fabric pouch.
When to boil or bleach
A toy only you use does not need sterilising; soap and water is enough. Sterilise before sharing it, after anal use if it will be used elsewhere, and any time it has been out of use long enough to pick up dust.
Boiling. A pot of water at a rolling boil, the toy fully under, three to five minutes. Put a cloth on the bottom of the pot so the silicone does not sit against hot metal. Lift out with tongs and leave to cool on a clean towel.
Bleach soak. One part unscented household bleach to nine parts cold water. Ten minutes in the solution, then a long rinse under running water and a wash with soap to take the bleach smell off. Air dry.
Both methods are safe for every piece we make, including the two-pour and two-part designs; all of the silicone in them is platinum-cured.
Lubricant
- Water-based: use freely. Reapply as it absorbs.
- Silicone-based: patch test first. Put a drop on the base, leave it an hour, wash it off and check the spot for any tackiness. Platinum silicone usually passes, but silicone lube left on the surface is the most common cause of a toy going sticky, so wash it off promptly.
- Oil-based: not recommended. Hard to clean out of grooves and suckers.
- Hybrid: treat as silicone-based and patch test.
Storage
Separately. Two silicone toys stored pressed together for months can bond at the contact point, transfer colour, or pick up a tacky patch. Each piece in its own pouch; the one that came in the box is for this.
Dry. Fully dry before it goes in the pouch.
Out of sunlight. Heat will not damage platinum silicone, but months of direct sun will slowly fade the colour. A drawer or a closet is right.
What to skip
- Dishwasher. The silicone survives it, but detergent lodges in grooves. Hand washing gives you control.
- Alcohol cleaners. Unnecessary, and they can leave a film. Soap for washing, bleach for sterilising.
- Toy cleaner sprays. Mostly soap at a higher price. They work; they add nothing over mild liquid soap.
- Plastic bags. Some plastics off-gas and react with silicone over time. Cloth or the included pouch.
- Microwave, hairdryer or radiator to warm it. Uneven heat makes hot spots you will not feel until contact. Warm water for two or three minutes, then test on your inner wrist.
When to replace
Platinum silicone lasts years with this routine, and these problems are rare. Retire a piece if you see any of them:
- A tear or cut. Even a small one gives bacteria somewhere to sit that washing does not reach.
- A smell that survives boiling.
- A tacky surface that does not come off with a hot soapy wash. Temporary tackiness from silicone lube washes off; permanent tackiness means the surface has been chemically softened.
- A change in surface feel, or a firm piece that has gone noticeably softer.
Colour fading from sunlight, on its own, is cosmetic. The material is unchanged.
Questions we get
Can I boil a dual-density piece?
Yes. Strong Bow and Hot Surge in M and L are two pours of platinum silicone bonded as they cure; boiling does not separate them or change the firmness. Milking Fruit II is a soft sleeve over a separate firm core: take the two parts apart, wash and boil them separately, and dry both before reassembling. Vargrahl and Mirror, which are a softer upper half over a firmer lower half, boil the same way as any single piece.
How often should I sterilise?
Before sharing, and after anal use if the piece will be used elsewhere. Otherwise soap and water after each use is the whole routine.
The colour has shifted slightly. Is it still safe?
A slight shift from sunlight or from a coloured lubricant is cosmetic. If the colour change comes with a change in feel, a smell, or tackiness, see the list above.
Can I use it in the bath or shower?
Yes. Water rinses lubricant away quickly, so you will reapply more often. A suction base will hold on smooth wet tile or glass.
Does the firmness change with temperature?
Slightly. A piece warmed in water feels a little softer than the same piece from a cold drawer. The tier on its product page describes it at room temperature; the tiers are explained on the firmness page.
Related
What our silicone is, and what we do not claim about it
