Myth: Cleaning Takes Forever

By GETAUVE Editorial Team · Published October 9, 2026

Myth: Cleaning Takes Forever — The Routine Is Shorter Than You Think

Two weeks in, you find out the part you'd been dreading takes about 30 seconds.

This guide breaks cleaning into the actual steps, explains why some devices are slow to clean and others aren't, and covers the mistakes that make it harder than it needs to be.

The Short Answer

Cleaning a sealed silicone body takes roughly 30 seconds: warm water, mild unscented soap, rinse, air dry. If yours takes longer, one of three things is wrong — the device isn't sealed, you're using a silicone-based lubricant that clings, or you're drying it with a towel that leaves lint. The specification to check before you buy is the IPX rating, and IPX7 means the body can go under a running tap without any care at all. Drying and storage take longer than washing does, so build your routine around airflow rather than around the sink.

The Actual Steps, in Order

• Rinse under warm water for about 10 seconds to remove surface residue.
• Wash with mild, unscented soap. Avoid anything with fragrance or antibacterial additives.
• Rinse again, and pay attention to seams and any textured area.
• Shake off the water and set it on a clean surface to air dry, which takes around 20 minutes.

That's the whole thing. The reason it feels like a chore is usually that people do it at the wrong moment, hours later, when residue has already set.

None of those steps needs a special product. Mild unscented soap and warm water do the whole job, and anything sold as a dedicated cleaner is usually the same thing in a smaller bottle.

It's also worth checking the rating before you buy rather than after. That one line decides every cleaning session you'll have for the next two years.

And skip the pouch until it's dry. A sealed damp container is the one genuinely bad outcome here, and about 20 minutes of patience avoids it.

Sealed Versus Unsealed Is the Whole Difference

This is the specification that actually decides it. An IPX7 body has no path for water to enter, so you rinse the entire thing under a tap in half a minute. A device with an open charging port and no sealing has to be wiped carefully around the port, every time.

GODLIKE carries an IPX7 rating along with its bendable 7.5-inch neck and 9 modes, which is why the whole cleaning step collapses into a rinse. A lower rating on a cheaper toy will cost you more minutes over a year than any other feature on the page saves you.

Lubricant and Residue Slow You Down

Water-based lubricant rinses off cleanly and is the reason the 30-second figure holds. Silicone-based lubricant doesn't, and it also degrades silicone surfaces over time.

Picture this: it's late, you're tired, and you skip the wash until morning. By morning the residue has dried into a film that needs real scrubbing. Do it immediately and you never meet that version of the job.

Drying Takes Longer Than Washing

Around 20 minutes of air drying, and it matters, because a damp toy in a closed pouch is how mildew starts. Set it on a clean open surface rather than back into the box.

The honest limitation: a textured or heavily contoured body holds water in places a smooth one doesn't, and those spots need a little more patience. That's a real difference, and no rating system captures it.

The Two Minutes Nobody Counts

Washing is 30 seconds. Drying is around 20 minutes, and storage is whatever habit you build. People add all three up as "cleaning" and then describe it as a chore, when the part they dislike is really the waiting.

Fix it by changing when you wash, not how. Rinse straight after use, then leave the device on a clean open surface while you do something else. By the time you're ready to put it away it's dry, and the routine cost you half a minute of attention.

The alternative, leaving it until morning, is the version everybody hates. Dried residue needs real scrubbing, and that part is entirely self-inflicted.

When Cleaning Really Is a Chore

Skip the quick routine if you own an unsealed device with a charging port near the contact end, because that one genuinely takes care and you shouldn't pretend otherwise. It's also worth saying plainly: if you're not willing to spend 30 seconds after each session, this category isn't for you, and that's a fair reason to pass. Buy a sealed IPX7 body or don't buy at all.

Sources

• Cleveland Clinic — general guidance on cleaning intimate devices and which materials are safe.
• International Electrotechnical Commission — publishes the IPX water-resistance rating system used on consumer devices.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — general guidance on handwashing, soap types and rinsing.

This article is general education, not medical advice. Follow the cleaning instructions supplied with your own device, and replace anything with a damaged surface.