The New Intimacy

Need to throw away silicone toys?

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Contributor: DreamyLove DreamyLove
Asking this for a friend and I'm asking here because I know she or I won't be judged. I really never thought about this after I was sexually assaulted. This particular friend has many silicone toys, some that she used post assault, but my question is, is there a need for her to throw away her toys if tests were to come back positive for STDs, or would she be okay with just sterilizing them? She's the only one who's ever used them, and they're not shared. I have silicone toys but I bought them long after my assault and thus did not know the answer to her question.

Any advice would be appreciated!
01/14/2009
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Contributor: CaptainBunnyKilla CaptainBunnyKilla
Quote:
Originally posted by DreamyLove
Asking this for a friend and I'm asking here because I know she or I won't be judged. I really never thought about this after I was sexually assaulted. This particular friend has many silicone toys, some that she used post assault, but my ... more
Silicone is technically completely sterilizable, so if the toys are 100% silicone and she boils or bleaches them, she should be OK. But I have to say that it does make me a little nervous.
I am *so* sorry that both of you have had to go through something so horrible.
01/14/2009
Contributor: Epiphora Epiphora
Wow, I've gotta say, you've finally stumped me. Well, first I should mention that if any of the toys are NOT 100% silicone, they cannot be sterilized and thus should be thrown away. The 100% silicone toys can be sterilized, but this is one situation that makes me nervous to say "yes, they would be safe after that." So my advice would be for her to use condoms on them from now on. How many of these toys does she have and would they be expensive to replace?
01/14/2009
Contributor: Beautiful Dreamer Beautiful Dreamer
Quote:
Originally posted by DreamyLove
Asking this for a friend and I'm asking here because I know she or I won't be judged. I really never thought about this after I was sexually assaulted. This particular friend has many silicone toys, some that she used post assault, but my ... more
Send me a message through EF's messaging system or email me. beautifuldreamerwrites AT gmail DOT com
I believe I can help.
01/14/2009
Contributor: Backseat Boohoo Backseat Boohoo
Without getting too personal, I think it is wonderful that you are here for your friend throughout this.

If she knows, for a fact, that her toys are pure silicone, they can be completely sterilized. A lot of toys are advertised as pure silicone even when they aren't, however, because you only need to have a certain percentage of silicone in a toy for it to be legal to advertise it as "pure." If she's not sure about a toy or she knows it's a hybrid (like TPR silicone), those should be tossed.

If your friend feels comfortable enough, she could provide a list of toys, and I'm sure the members here would be more than happy to help. Or, you could look them up on the website; EF always lists the product materials.
01/15/2009
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
I have read somewhere that if you left your toys sit untouched for a period of time, any.. "organisms," if you will, will die out.
01/15/2009
Contributor: DreamyLove DreamyLove
Quote:
Originally posted by Backseat Boohoo
Without getting too personal, I think it is wonderful that you are here for your friend throughout this.

If she knows, for a fact, that her toys are pure silicone, they can be completely sterilized. A lot of toys are advertised as pure ... more
Since she doesn't have internet right now and she's relying on me for support and help in getting extra support, her and I have almost all of the same toys, and here's a list of the ones in question that she's used since the assault. They're all either silicone, metal or glass. We both know about the dishwasher/boiling/soa p and water cleaning, but we're both wondering maybe there's a cleaning method we weren't aware of, you know?!

link
link
link
link
link
link
01/16/2009
Contributor: Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady Not Here Anymore f/k/a Happy Lady
Quote:
Originally posted by DreamyLove
Since she doesn't have internet right now and she's relying on me for support and help in getting extra support, her and I have almost all of the same toys, and here's a list of the ones in question that she's used since the assault. ... more
She may wish to contact the manufacturers of the toys in question and just ask about sterilization and/or other cleaning methods. I know that wouldn't be the most comfortable thing for her to do, but that list contains some pricier items and it would be a shame for her to discard them if not necessary.

Also, sexual assaults can often leave people feeling quite uncomfortable with their current/future partners. She may actually need to rely on her toy collection to help mend her sexual spirit.
01/16/2009
Contributor: Nashville Nashville
All toys look good- there isn't any porosity with glass and steel so she's safe. Silicone is also safe too. Tell her- if she can boil it, keep it.
01/16/2009
Contributor: Avery Dragon Avery Dragon
Wow.. it's horrible to hear that that happened, to both of you.. Its good that you are both there for each other. As for looking over the list you have, honestly i think that the basic sterilization on all of those ~should~ be enough, however if she's still uncomfortable with them, she could always use these wipes or this spray, both protect against both bacteria AND viruses. in the company i work for, we've had a nurse say that the spray was in her training manual as a good quick sterilizer for hospital instruments.
01/16/2009
Contributor: CaptainBunnyKilla CaptainBunnyKilla
Quote:
Originally posted by Avery Dragon
Wow.. it's horrible to hear that that happened, to both of you.. Its good that you are both there for each other. As for looking over the list you have, honestly i think that the basic sterilization on all of those ~should~ be enough, however if ... more
Oh wow, I had no idea that the Pjur stuff was hospital-approved! Thanks for sharing that, it's good information for everyone to have.
01/18/2009
Contributor: ScottA ScottA
This is late - I just noticed this post through a search.

It's terrible that your friend went through that.

While bleach and boiling are OK for "garden variety" sanitizing, I"d go for something more thorough if tests come back positive for anything. Bleaching and boiling at atmospheric pressure are not sufficiently thorough to be used for sterilization in the medical profession unless it's an emergency. If you have a friend in the medical profession you can see if you can run your silicone toys through an autoclave or get your hands on some cold-sterile solution (usually gluteraldehyde). If not, you can use a pressure cooker at ~10-15PSI for about 10 minutes. Bleach would be a distant third, but make sure that the toy is clean and let it soak for a while.

The med-clean spray is clorhexidine gluconate, which sanitizes/disinfects but doesn't sterilize. The difference doesn't sound like much, but if you're talking about something that could kill you it's important.

Some microorganisms die out after a period of time away from a host or in an inhospitable (dry) environment, but many don't - so "wash and wait" is never a good option if there could be something dangerous lingering around.
02/16/2010
Contributor: fireman1303 fireman1303
Quote:
Originally posted by Beautiful Dreamer
Send me a message through EF's messaging system or email me. beautifuldreamerwrites AT gmail DOT com
I believe I can help.
call me at 424 7337 area code 606.
03/01/2010