How to Stop Sex Toys Sticking Together in Storage

By GETAUVE Editorial Team · Published October 30, 2026

Why Your Toys Stick Together in the Drawer

Week one is easy. Week three is when the drawer starts to smell like a new shower curtain.

Two soft surfaces that fuse overnight usually point to a material and storage problem rather than a cleaning one, and the whole reset takes about 5 minutes.

The Short Answer

Sticking is almost always plasticizer migration, and it happens when two soft materials sit in contact in a warm, sealed space. Separate them, dry them completely, dust the tacky one with cornstarch, and stop storing anything in a zip bag. That fixes most drawers in one evening. If the surface has already gone gummy and won't recover after washing, the material is finished and no storage trick will save it. A water-based lubricant won't cause this on its own, but silicone-based lubricant left on a silicone surface for weeks can leave a film that feels like melting.

Why Soft Materials Fuse

TPE and similar elastomers are softened with mineral oils that stay mobile inside the material. Over 6 to 12 months of use, some of that oil works its way to the surface. Two oiled surfaces pressed together in a drawer will bond at the contact point, and the bond gets stronger with heat.

Late at night, in a bedroom that's 75 degrees or warmer, that process runs faster than most people expect. Add a closed plastic container and the escaping oil has nowhere to go. The surfaces stay slick, then tacky, then stuck.

Silicone behaves differently. Cured silicone doesn't leak oil the same way, but it will pick up a sticky film if it's stored against TPE for weeks. The stickiness you feel may not be your toy degrading at all. It may be a neighbor's plasticizer sitting on top of it.

The Five-Minute Reset

Wash both surfaces with warm water and a mild unscented soap, then dry them completely. Not mostly dry. Water trapped under a toy makes tackiness worse.

Dust the tacky surface with a light layer of cornstarch, rub it in, and shake off the excess. This absorbs surface oil and buys you months. It's the same trick people use on stuck rubber seals, and it works here for the same reason.

Then separate them. One pouch per toy, or a folded cotton cloth between them. The first time you do this, the drawer will look fussier than before. That's fine. Fussy storage is why the toys still work in year two.

Separate by Material, Not by Size

Silicone can touch silicone. Hard ABS can touch anything, which is why a hard-shell bullet is the easiest thing in the drawer to store. The pair that causes trouble is soft against soft, especially TPE against silicone.

If you aren't sure which is which, the stretch test settles it in about 10 seconds. TPE pulls like a rubber band and bounces back slowly. Silicone resists, then snaps back cleanly. If you can pinch a half inch of it and see the surface go pale, that's TPE.

Group by material on a Sunday afternoon and you'll stop thinking about it. Two cloth bags and one small box will hold a modest collection, and the drawer still closes the way it did before.

Heat, Light, and the Bathroom Problem

A bathroom shelf is the worst common storage spot. Steam, warmth, and no airflow is the exact combination that speeds up oil migration. If the only private space you have is a bathroom cabinet, keep things in a breathable cloth bag rather than a sealed box.

Windowsills and cars are worse. Direct sun through glass can push a surface past 100 degrees, and 2 hours of that does more damage than a year of careful use.

Cool, dark, and dry is the whole rule. A bedside drawer at 68 to 72 degrees is close to ideal, and it's also the place you'll actually reach for things, which matters more than perfect conditions.

Where Lubricant Fits In

Lubricant isn't the cause of sticking, but the wrong one adds a film that makes a surface feel sticky even after washing. Water-based formulas rinse clean and don't attack silicone. Silicone-based formulas are excellent for long sessions and a poor choice for long-term storage on a silicone surface.

A small drop is enough. Velvet Touch is water-based, so one pea-sized amount on your fingers or on the surface spreads further than most people expect, and it rinses off with warm water in under a minute. It's worth keeping in the drawer rather than buying per occasion.

Use it before, not after. Lubricant applied and left to sit is a residue problem. Lubricant applied at the moment is the reason a session goes better.

When the Fix Won't Work

If the surface has gone gummy, no amount of cornstarch brings it back. That's the honest limit of this advice. Soft TPE has a working life measured in months of regular use, and once the outer layer breaks down it sheds.

It's also not worth the effort if you own one toy and store it alone in a dry drawer. Separation matters when things touch. A single toy in a cloth bag is already doing the right thing, so skip the cornstarch step entirely.

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic — general sexual health and hygiene education
• Planned Parenthood — product care and material guidance
• GETAUVE — storage and lubricant care notes

Written by the GETAUVE Editorial Team. This article is general education and not medical advice. See a clinician for persistent irritation.