Toxic dildos? Don't buy PVC sex toys!

[calrockxxx]

Ok guys, we don't talk much on here about sex toys, but I for one am a fan.

But then I had a weird experience. I stored two dildos together for a few months in the same bag. One was an Oxballs silicone dildo (I paid $130 for this gem), the other was a Fort Troff Sticky Bomb 6.5, made of PVC according to their web site (I paid $40 for this one).

When I took them out of the bag, there was black goo all over both of them. Where the two had touched, the silicone dildo had melted away into a gooey mess. I tried to clean it up, but the part of the silicone dildo where the two had touched had become sticky and still seemed to ooze black goo.

I was perplexed, so I contacted the place I'd bought the Oxballs silicone one and Fort Troff via email.

Here's what Fort Troff had to say:

Some toys have a negative effect when they come in to contact with other

toys. It's the materials that they are made out of. There is

unfortunately not a 100% way to know which toys can come into contact

with each other. We provide bags for each toys that we sell for our

customers to store the toys in. You should always store them apart from

each other or in separate bags.

OK, that was vague, and I didn't get a bag in my order, nor did I get any storage instructions or warning about any possible "negative effect" of toys coming in contact with each other.

Then I got a helpful message from Ox via the reseller I'd bought the silicone toy from...

...sometimes certain plastics, like the really smelly vinyl toys or clear jelly toys, (not TRP like we make) will melt the surface of other plastics or silicones… PVC (vinyl) should not be used as a toy unless you put a rubber over it, btw, it is not approved by any FDA in any country for use on skin or in the body, if a toy has that new car smell, it is toxic…

I checked my Fort Troff Sticky Bomb and sure as hell it reeked of "new car smell". And I hadn't been using a condom over it. Egad, is this thing I'd been sticking up my butt toxic?

So I did a little research online. And I quickly learned that sex toys are unregulated, and there has been quite a bit written on PVC toys and the dangers of the phthalates that are used to make them translucent and soft. The most damning was this article from the Village Voice back in 2007: Dangerous Dildos.

In the article the author has this to say:

...many toy manufacturers have begun advertising products as "phthalate-free." ... but dildo companies are not required to list a toy's actual ingredients. This allows the industry to provide misleading and incorrect labeling, which it routinely does, from "hypoallergenic dildos" to so-called silicone toys that aren't made of silicone.

So what did I learn from this experience?

1. Don't buy house brand toys, even from a well-known shop like Fort Troff.

2. Don't store toys together. Make sure they're in separate bags (and not plastic bags, either).

3. Use water-based lube with toys, not silicone.

4. NEVER buy a toy that is made of PVC or "vinyl", since these most likely contain the phthalates that are harmful and potentially cancer-causing.

Now I'm out about $190 in damaged and potentially toxic toys.

I forwarded the message from Ox on to Fort Troff. I ever hear from them, I'll report back. And it will be interesting to see how they respond when they get my used Sticky Bomb dildo returned for a refund.

[rawTOP]

Yeah, PVC is bad news... My brother-in-law thinks it contributed to his first wife getting cancer and dying - they had PVC water supply lines. It's dangerous when the water you drink passes through PVC pipes. IMHO, PVC should only be used for drain pipes. So it makes sense that sticking PVC up your ass is probably a bad idea too...

[topdognyc]

So, what brand of toys would you recommend? What online stores should we be able to shop with confidence?

[calrockxxx]

So, what brand of toys would you recommend? What online stores should we be able to shop with confidence?

I'll probably stick with the Oxballs silicone dildos from now on. These silicone things are expensive, though, and the material is firmer than the PVC and rubber dildos I used to have (I like a nice hard dick, so that's not a problem for me!).

Oxballs was super responsive to questions and I really liked the dildo that melted! Their products are sold all over the place. I'll be doing my shopping locally (there's a great fetish store here in town) so that I can actually judge the size of these things in person.

Oxballs sells direct online at their shop... shop dot oxballs dot com. My dildo that melted due to the PVC exposure was "the Ogre" which is listed under the "Large" section. I don't know what their customer service is like, so I can't speak to that.

Anyone else have suggestions?

[Inception]

I work in construction, and we have to make sure that materials made from different plastics don't touch or are insulated from each other so that they don't break each other down. I thought this was common knowledge. I wrap my dildos in old t-shirts so they don't touch each other.

Also I have one that I like (Johnny Hazzard's cock) but the plastic it is made from is uncomfortable. I am not alergic to latex but I'm thinking it may be vinyl. Anyways I put a condom on it.

Maybe you don't like condoms for sex, but they're good for dildos!

[toxiclover]

This is kind of like BpA found in the plastic containers we use for drinking. Hormones that mimic estrogen are leached out.

[RawHole2fuck]

I am in the chemical field of things, wont elaborate due to privacy concerns but basically ANY product that contains plastics (silicon is not a plastic btw, it is produced via a few chemical reactions from ordinary beach sand or can be mined as a metal or metal salt) plastic are hydrocarbons bonded to other chemicals, usually oxygen, sulfur, chlorine, fluorine and nitrogen. If you look at the middle 3, very toxic in even small amounts it can cause damage. Plastics decompose very gradually and so, release most of these chemicals and other organic molecules from the plastic. This is also why you dont heat foods in plastics which have not been designed to handle heat.

toxiclover, you are correct in saying that... that is why they do not use Styrofoam as packaging for fast foods, and any other warm foods for that matter, because the heat will a molecule to form that is very similar in chemical stucture and nature to estrogen, the female hormone.

This is a short version and a very simplistic version of the chemistry of plastics, actually very complex. But it boils down to the fact that plastics are not really that good for human health due to the the toxicity of the chemicals and other organic materials that might be gradually "break off" from the main body of plastic.

Hope this helps to some extent, even if this not a science forum but one dedicated to sex and many forms of it.

[ez.charlie]

oh scary i've just bought two last week...now i'm feeling a bit paranoid. thanks for the update though. hope you get compensation!

[Guest BushPig]

Probably related to the chemical mix or maybe a personal 'allergy' but I've had toys that I've used once and they have left me burning, itching and wishing I could flush the painful area with gasoline to make it feel better. One toy in particular was from a local leather manufacturer now out of business. Maybe I should have known better but still, you just never know what you're getting considering the country of origin. The offending toy was cut up and disposed of. I've never seen any reaction where the material(s) melts however. Could there be any relationship to the lube used?

[seedmyhole]

Great topic! As a sex toy lover, I have heard a lot about "toxic toys" over the past few years. Yes, these big companies continue to stock toys made of crappy materials because they are cheaper to make and they can mark the retail price way up. Most of the "porn star molded realistic" cocks are made of this inferior material, as well as a lot of the huge dildos that guys love. These guys are right: the silicone dildos and toys are safer for your body, but they are generally more expensive. I am still a little leery of the big companies who are now jumping on the "premium silicone" bandwagon, because - as others have said - the industry is not regulated and they can pretty much label their stuff however they want. Which isn't to say a toy labeled as silicone isn't, just that you should do some research if you're looking to buy some good quality silicone toys. Some of this stuff that's mass produced in China might not be made of 100% silicone or made of a decent grade. Companies I have found that make really good silicone stuff: Tantus, Vixen Creations, Keep Burning, Fun Factory, BS Atelier (very cool dildos from Spain), Bulder (new French company selling dongs inspired by Tom of Finland), Bad Dragon has a big line of fantasy dongs...Fleshlight offers some nice silicone porn star dildos, if that is your thing. You can probably find other good manufacturers by doing an Internet search. Luckily, there are quite a few male sex toy blogs popping up with detailed reviews of toys, and most of these guys are pretty boned up on safer materials, so you won't see a lot of inferior toys plugged on their blogs. I think all guys who love dildos should own at least one made of silicone, because it such a nice material...non-porous, easy to clean and warms up to the temperature of your hole, so it feels a lot like a real cock when you're thrusting with it.

[Rayne]

To the OP- About the only way to safely go about toy purchase: contact the manufacturer, or talk to the seller, and find out exactly what the toys are made out of. Once you know what the toy is made out of, then you know if it's safe; and make sure you know for a fact what the toy is made of, not some guy's assumption who has the job because it pays for his condoms. People need to be more aware of what they put into their bodies. I'm glad you found this out before you had serious health problems arising, because that could have turned out to be something really bad. I'm not saying you have a high probability of it, but better to avoid these toys now that you know. I would consult a lawyer (or just the law books), and see if there is a way you might be able to sue them; but, the catch is that you don't actually sue them. Use it as leverage for a refund on the damaged toys. I'm sure you could find some loophole if you tried hard enough, even if there's a terms of use/service agreement from the places you buy the toys. Even if the toys are made "for novelty use only," there might be an endangerment law that is open ended enough to weasel a little something from the people who weaseled their way into making a potentially dangerous toy.

If you ask me, even if the toys aren't meant for actual use, and they really are meant for novelty use (yeah, right), I don't think it's intelligent to make a novelty sex toy out of something that is potentially toxic. Sex toys are intended for sexual purposes, regardless of the disclaimers (as they are intended for sales purposes, NOT safety). It's like handing a baby a toy with lead paint; even though you're not supposed to eat the toy, the kid is very likely to put the toy in its mouth. We may be adults, and able to read, but it's stupid to sell sex toys made of potentially toxic materials.

[PumaParTyBeasT]

Huh. Now I'm thinking that I should throw out that one PVC dildo I got from BoyZShop. Might even explain why I've bled a few times after using it. Actually, as I'm writing this it seems most probably. It's going out with the trash. Especially since I think that it is now the cause behind one of my other toys melting.

[Rayne]

I don't see why anyone would think making a sex toy out of PVC would be a remotely good idea. Then again, I try to educate myself on the materials we use, since they can hurt us; and they definitely have in the past.

[mattywoo]

I just wanted to contribute to this thread by agreeing- PVC is pretty bad for you. I actually get an allergic reaction (intense burning sensation). Originally I thought it was just cause I was using a big toy and didn't know any better... anywho, I would only recommend 100% silicone toys (also stored separately), and water based lubes for toy play. Silicone lube is great for sex though. Just know, silicone reacts with silicone, so never combine the two (both with toys and lubes).

[ChaserBoysRHot]

I've read about PVC being bad for a number of years now. My rule is silicon only. My favorite brand is Square Peg, which I usually get from Mr. S Leathers.

On storing them, manufacturers also recommend to not let silicon toys rest directly against each other in storage either. I wrap them up in small towels when not in use.

Play safe!