NOTES on SAFETY

I've had this post languishing in draft for many months, unmotivated to publish it primarily because the information is already available from numerous other sources. These days, every respectable online sex toy vendor has at least one page dedicated to information about the composition of the products it sells. For example, Babeland's starts here. A quick Google search produces a plethora of hits. I've posted the link to Violet Blue's most excellent article before, and I'm sure I will again. Wikipedia has an entry here.

But something happened last night that made me go Ewwww! and I think it only serves to emphasize all the warnings floating around about what's in some of the cheaper products folks stick in their bodies.

Damned near every toy carries the instruction to store it "a cool, dry place" after proper cleaning. I mean, it's so common that it doesn't even register any more. Our eyes just pass over it, unseeing. However, being the meticulous person that I am (STOP LAUGHING!), I've always followed this advice. I don't store my sex toys in the refrigerator (unless I'm chilling my Njoy) or the oven or in a vat of disinfectant. I have a breathable--but lockable--storage drawer (a steel gun locker, actually) in which I keep my toys.

Anyway, I opened it last night to put away some recent acquisitions, and when I happened to touch one particular dildo, it was slimy. My first thought was that I had a lube spill somewhere. Nope. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the toy itself was... oozing. Now, this was a large, jelly dong that I don't recall buying. I think maybe it came with a harness or something. Maybe I got it as a gift. That particular detail is lost in the recesses of my sex-addled memory. However, I do know I never used/tested it (because it was HUGE and I'm just not a size queen). It was stored in "a cool, dry place" and yet it was bleeding, leaking some unknown & presumably toxic substance.

I immediately tossed it in the trash, pausing only briefly to consider the environmental impact of its disposal. The thought of having that inside me made me sick to my stomach. When the nausea abated, I returned to my toy box and checked everything else. Fortunately, there were no other casualties.

In the coming weeks, I'm going to check each of the vendors with whom Toys for Tarts is affiliated. If I do not find a page on their site with information on materials and safety, I am going to contact them with a request that they create one. If, within a reasonable amount of time, they do not, I am going to sever the affiliation. Toys for Tarts will not support vendors (even if paid a pittance to do so) that knowingly put sales before safety. Readers are encouraged to comment here to share their related experiences with various vendors.

I will leave you with some simple advice:
  1. Know the composition of the products you're using as well as how to safely use, clean, and store them.
  2. If a vendor or manufacturer does not disclose the material from which a product is made, DON'T BUY IT.
  3. If you are unsure about the composition of a product already in your arsenal, either replace it or use a safe barrier (such as a condom) when playing with it.
  4. Pass this information along.

Until next time...

peace & passion,

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