• DO clean your toys before and after use

• DO use a sex toy cleaner for extra peace of mind

• DO remove any sex toy batteries and close the battery compartments tightly before cleaning

• DO leave your sex toys to air dry thoroughly (laid on paper towel is ideal), or dry with a clean towel

• DON'T put your sex toys away before they are totally dry

• DON'T leave your sex toys on a radiator or next to a heat source to dry

• DON'T store your newly cleaned toys together. For more information on storage, read our guide to storing sex toys here.

For motorised toys like vibrators, you need to be careful not to create water damage that may stop your toy from working.

The trick is to use sex toy cleaner or mild soap with just a damp cloth to wipe the sex toy clean. Don't submerge it in water unless it's a waterproof toy.

If your dildo is motorised (i.e. it uses batteries or is chargeable), then the same vibrator rules apply: don’t submerge your toy in water and just wipe it clean.

For non-motorised dildos made out of a non-porous material, like silicone, stainless steel, stone or Pyrex glass, you can submerge your toy in water to properly clean it. Full bubbles and scrubbing apply!

For dildos made of realistic-feeling materials or blended materials, check the next point.

Realistic-feel sex toys are made from a mix of (usually trademarked) materials that are formulated to feel as close to real skin as possible. For realistic-feel sex toys, there's one extra step to take (which you don’t need for other kinds of toys) to keep them feeling soft and supple instead of sticky.

It’s simple: sprinkle your toy with cornflour or a renewer powder, like the THRUST Lifelike Sex Toy Renewer Powder, to counteract that tacky feeling, then ensure the clean toy is stored separately from any others.

Don’t underestimate the power of a renewer powder, as customers like Horny_couple_69 have discovered: “After purchasing a CyberSkin cock and the hubby having a collection of realistic pussies, after washing and leaving to dry they always felt a tad sticky, so we knew we had to make this purchase. And wow, it really does put the life back into our toys and returns them back to their usable state again!”

To check if your toy is made from realistic-feel material and needs special attention, go to the product page on Lovehoney and double check the material under the 'How it feels' section. If it says "soft plastic", that's a sure sign you need to dust with renewer powder.

Realistic-feel materials include: CyberSkin, Fleshlight, Futurotic Plus, LoveClone, Loveskin, Magic Flesh, Realskin, Refined Touch, Sil-A-Gel, Silk Skin, Skin Touch, SoftSkin, SoftTouch, True Skin, UR3 (Ultra Realistic 3.0), Virtual Skin.

Cleaning anal sex toys might feel like it requires a more complex routine than other sex toys which are used in the vagina, on the penis or elsewhere on your hot bod.

However, you can clean anal sex toys using the same technique as your other toys: with warm water and a sex toy cleaner or mild soap. Just avoid submerging motorised anal toys that aren't explicitly waterproof.

The same goes for butt plugs: you can clean these little posterior pals just as you would any other sex toy, using either a sex toy cleaner or soap. Again, if it’s motorised and not waterproof, steer clear of submerging it in water.