Are Used Sex Toys Safe?
Sustainability has been a growing area of concern for many for a few years now. In fact, in 2014, 71% of people globally were concerned about environmental sustainability, rising to around 77% in 2019. This interest in sustainability has even extended to sex toys, with people looking to buy or sell their used sex toys rather than throw them away. We’ll be taking a look into this practice, whether it’s safe, the potential risks it holds and finally about reusing disposable TENGA products.
Contents
Buying Used Sex Toys
Sex toy users, in general, may not have seen ads for used sex toys, but there are a lot of thriving communities online that help people interested. On Reddit r/usedsextoys serves as an online marketplace for used toys for people who don't want to waste their used sex toys or, may even just enjoy buying them to satisfy a fetish. There is also r/SexToys, which although specifying only non-porous toys can be exchanged, still relies on the users to provide an undamaged, clean toy without any real guarantee that this is what will be received.
There are also multiple online communities such as Craigslist, or even more sex-positive Facebook groups that help users to find and exchange with others online. With all these avenues to purchase a used sex toy existing it seems that there is far less of a stigma surrounding using them in recent years. While people may not want to waste a sex toy they aren’t using or are deterred by the perceived expensive costs of purchasing a new toy, buying used can put your health at risk.
Risks of Reusing Used Sex Toys
The materials used sex toys are made of can often be misleading. While certain materials such as stainless steel or silicone can be easily disinfected, you can't guarantee when buying a used sex toy that those items are made out of those materials. It could also be possible that the silicone may be degraded, something that may difficult to see. Just because an item comes boxed doesn’t offer much protection either, as it is easy to repackage an item to look clean and hygienic.
If you use an item that has been used but not cleaned correctly or thoroughly enough (which sometimes may not always be enough if the item is porous, for example) then you can put yourself at the risk of contracting STIs. While buying a new sex toy may be more expensive, in the long term, the guarantee of knowing the materials the product is made from, as well as that it hasn’t been used before is worth the extra cost.
Reusing Disposable TENGA
TENGA has many products within our disposable range, such as the TENGA EGG Series and our various CUP Series. While some users do share online that these products can be used multiple times, we would advise against this. All of these products, while made with the highest quality materials and techniques, are only designed to be used once. This means that not only would the potential satisfaction of using a product more than once occur, but it could become unhygienic to continue using these products more than once.
Cleaning these products might seem like a solution, but as they are designed to be disposable items, we would not advise using these products more than once, regardless of ejaculation. We do offer many options for those seeking a reusable device, all of which are designed to be used multiple times.
Summary
While buying a used sex toy is becoming easier to do and more prominent through certain online communities, it isn’t something that is advisable. Even if the post or user guarantees the material and condition of the used sex toy, you can never really be 100% guaranteed that this is the item that you will receive. The potential risks of using a used sex toy far outweigh the benefits of spending a little extra on a new sex toy from a verified source or brand. Don’t risk your sexual wellness to save a little money, it is always worth investing a little extra to make sure you experience the best self-pleasure possible!
