AMA: Boiling a Sex Toy

Last year, I bought a new dildo for my strap-on and decided that I would try a new method for disinfecting it before use: Boiling it 🫧

Jokingly, I tweeted about this little adventure: Just boiled a sex toy for the first time AMA 🍵

To my surprise, people actually asked thoughtful questions! Questions someone else might have if they don’t know why you’d boil a sex toy or how to do it properly. 

So I’ve chronicled those questions and my answers (with a touch more research) in this blog post.

Why’d you boil it?
Boiling is one way of cleaning and disinfecting sex toys! This works for toys made from 100% silicone, stainless steel, and borosilicate glass. 

Most of my sex toys have internal motors or other electronics, so that’s why I don’t typically use the boiling technique. 

As in, you put it in a pot and “cook” it on the hob?
Yes! With water, though, water is essential 💧

Here are the typical steps: 

1. Surface clean the toy with soap and water.
2. Boil water in a pot.
3. Once the water is boiling, submerge the toy completely for three minutes.
4. Use tongs to remove the toy from the boiling water and place it on a clean towel.
5. Give the toy time to air-dry.

Did you take the batteries out first?
There were no batteries because you can’t boil toys containing electronics (it’s dangerous) 🙅🏼‍♀️

How did you choose the pot?
Honestly, I just grabbed the first pot out of the drawer for my first attempt. This failed because the toy was too big and couldn’t fully submerged. I had to flip it around with tongs and wasn’t confident that every millimeter of the toy was sanitized by the end. So definitely recommend checking the pot size before boiling water to ensure your toy will fit. 

If you're living with someone else, it’s also important to make sure they're ok with you using that pot to disinfect your sex toys. It can make people uncomfortable, even though you’ll be cleaning the pot after.

Do you do it because it’s faster or just to be very sure?
In this case, I chose to boil because I bought a discounted demo toy from a local sex shop. Because many people have likely handled it, I wanted to deep clean it before using it. Usually, I opt for surface cleaning with soap and water because I can do it faster and I’m less likely to burn myself 🧼

That said, there are a few situations where boiling (or other disinfecting techniques) is recommended. These include after the toy has come into contact with an active infection, you’re switching between anal and vaginal use, or if there are any lingering odors. 

Did you say, “mmmm good soup”?
No, but I started to after reading that 🍲 (forbidden soup).

Can I touch it now? 
You’ll want to wait a bit for the toy to cool down and air-dry. Don’t run it under cold water because the temperature change can stress the material. 

But then, in theory, if it’s your toy or you have consent, yes! Go for it 😈

Is this what people mean when they say they want to heat things up in the bedroom?
It could be! Maybe that’s the benefit of a studio apartment 😏

Once it’s done boiling, do you serve it with a red wine or a white wine?
I’m a red wine person myself, but I’m sure either would make a great pairing 🍷

What’s the boiling point of sex toys in Celsius? 
It depends on the material. If you’re worried about accidentally melting your toy, here are the approximate temperature points that the three boil-able toy materials begin to break down:

• Silicone: ~400°C
• Stainless steel: ~350°C
• Borosilicate glass: ~525°C

So far above water’s boiling point (100°C) 🫠

If you’re still worried or not sure whether your toy is 100% of any material, try holding a lighter to the toy. You should be able to do a quick spot check without it melting. 

Do you have any bacterial culture plates? I’d love to see a before and after.
That’d be cool, but sadly I lack the equipment. If anyone has done this (or could give me access to such tools), let me know 👀

At what degree does water orgasm?
When it boils, maybe? Feels like a trick question 💦

🙋🏼‍♀️ Have a question about boiling sex toys that I didn’t answer?
Write me on Twitter @carolstran or Mastodon @carolstran@mastodon.online

This blog post was written as part of the Dev | Writers | Miami retreat 🌴