June 10, 2023

Why is My TENGA Not Working - Elastomer Edition

It's great being a manufacturer of items that bring so much joy and physical pleasure to millions of people. But along with the joy, we sometimes get a few concerned inquiries from our customers about their TENGA products. Many inquire about a broken product and whether there has been a mistake in the manufacturing process with their item.

While occasionally there may be an issue in the manufacture of the item not working, often it is more a misunderstanding of how the product works and why the product looks the way it does. In this article, we share a few of the TENGA "secrets" that make some of our items work so well and also talk about some points to help keep some of your reusable items in top shape. In particular, we will focus on some of the issues that customers address about the elastomer in our TENGA products.

TENGA CUPs Are Single-Use

First of all, we want to make sure that everyone understands that the TENGA CUPs are designed solely for one-time, disposable use. They should be discarded afterwards. Due to concerns about hygiene, we do not recommend using the CUP more than once. If you are looking for a reusable TENGA item, we have many that will suit your needs, from SPINNERs, to FLIP ZEROs, even vibrating EVs that will take your masturbation experience to a whole new dimension. That being said, let’s discuss a popular issue that we get many inquiries about with disposables, the holes in the elastomer.

Why Is There A Hole in the Elastomer?

If you are a big fan of the TENGA CUPs, our flagship product, you are probably well aware that when you use a TENGA CUP, there is a small sticker at the end of the tip of the casing. You take the sticker off and can use your finger to cover the hole when you want to in order to create more suction while stroking. That’s a small, but important detail with the TENGA CUPs.

While we don’t want to bog you down with details, we also do not want to concern you over defective products that are not actually broken. For example, some of you may have also noticed a slit, or small hole in the elastomer sleeve, near the insertion hole of the item as you remove the cap (see image above). This is not a mistake or a manufacturing defect.

Since the inside of the TENGA CUP Series is air-tight, we included this small incision in the insertion pad to release air upon insertion. This hole helps remove air from the inner chamber between the casing and the elastomer, and is needed for the vacuum suction to work with the top airhole. Without this hole, your TENGA item would not give you the same level of enveloping pleasure that you have come to enjoy so much. The CUPs work on suction as well as the gliding action on the shaft to provide as incredible an experience as possible. Having air pockets in the elastomer would actually work against the suction, making the sleeve push against your shaft, and that would make the experience far less satisfying.

For those who have actually removed the elastomer from the casing of the TENGA CUP (we don't recommend it), you may have actually seen a second hole closer to the tip of the elastomer. This hole is also meant to be there and helps remove the air from the inside of the sleeve in order to provide a snug fit to the shaft. Again, as with the first slit we mentioned, it is designed to provide you with an experience that provides a pleasurable, enveloping fit. Please rest assured that this is part of the item’s design, and does not indicate a broken or defective item!

My TENGA Has Markings!

On certain TENGA products, you may see some unusual or random markings on the elastomer. That does not mean your item is falling apart. Sometimes during the manufacturing of the item, there may be some small markings that remain on the elastomer. This should in no way affect the performance of the item and should not be of concern. Rest assured, if you do have a concern about any markings, or the item not working properly, you can always contact us on our website form.

TENGA Product Maintenance for Reusables

In addition to holes in the elastomer that have been designed to be there, we also unfortunately get inquiries about the degradation of the elastomer for some of our reusable items. Most of the time this is due to insufficient washing or drying of the product after use. If there is residue lotion, or other fluids remaining on the elastomer, it can build up and attract dirt, even bacteria and mold. This will definitely reduce the longevity of your item, but much of this can be prevented if caught early.

For many of the reusable TENGA items, it is very important to read the User Manual and take to heart the maintenance of your TENGA product. Did you know that elastomer is a porous material? This helps to make the material softer and feel comfortable. But since the elastomer is porous, it can potentially trap dirt and oil in the surface pockets. This is why we suggest using only TENGA water-based Lotions for your products.

Oil-based lotions and lotions from other companies could potentially get trapped in the microscopic pockets and cause dirt and oil to accumulate, and eventually attract mold. Sometimes we have heard customers using baby powder to dry the surface of their items as well. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend this practice either, as it may trap the fine powder into the elastomer and possibly affect the performance of the item.

We do suggest thoroughly washing your item with tepid or cold water and making sure that the item is completely dried before storage. The drying times may vary from region to region, as humidity levels are different, but please check and be sure your item is thoroughly dry and clean before storing.

If at all possible, before you send us a message about your item not working, we do ask if you could read through the User Manual first and try all the troubleshooting steps listed in your manual. If you have lost your manual, we have a site with a downloadable collection of User Manuals for TENGA (as well as manuals from our sister company, iroha).

Beware of Counterfeits

There have been times when we have received complaints about a TENGA item only to find out that the item was a fake, or counterfeit item. As the popularity of TENGA grows, many companies are beginning to create similar items to our products. Currently there are a number of counterfeit TENGA items on the market. While they may look very similar to authentic TENGA products, the quality is far inferior and may even be dangerous to use. For further information about counterfeit items, click here. If you are concerned you may have purchased a counterfeit item, please contact us and we can help you determine the authenticity of your items.

Conclusion

Usage and maintenance of your TENGA items should never be stressful. We want our products to be enjoyable from the very start. We hope that some of the information we have provided here has given you some piece of mind and confidence over the quality and engineering of our products. Please enjoy your TENGA items and if you have any questions, please contact us anytime.