How necessary is cleaning your device?

[LetsGrow]

Is it purly for slipping purposes? Mine has yet to slip or feel or smell any different, so should i still wash it even when it really doesn't seem much different from when i first washed it? I don't mean to seem gross but i just wanted to know if it could somehow cause a infection or other medical issues.

[mjwise]

Well, I can only speak for myself, but my devices absolutely do smell after a day of wear, plus small bits of skin are on all parts of it. I wash them with dish soap daily. I recommend it and so does Ron.

[LetsGrow]

The gripper of my DTR retains the smell of the soap i use even after i wash it multiple times, is it safe to use? I do wash my device, i was just curious because i remember somebody saying they allegedly got some kind of infection from it.

[Menthol]

For me after wearing there's usually plenty liquid build-up, lint and hairs, so not washing is not an option.

I wash my TLC-X with water, nothing else, left to dry in the air. It's shiny and clean, no smell.

[parsecskin]

Cleaning it is absolutely necessary. Dish soap and hot water followed by an alchol wipe ensures there no skin oil on the device. It will grip much better. You should wipe the tugger body and pusher with alcohol every day and wash the retaining cone with hot soap and water every day.
This will ensure you don't get a UTI from anything on the device.

[Epimoni]

Yeah, UTI's are not worth the risk, clean your device... you're basically trapping germs against your skin when you put your device on if you don't clean it. As an aside, though I clean my device every night, I found that as my skin started to heal a bit and produce oils and such, my device began slipping pretty badly. Making sure your inner foreskin is clean will definitely prevent slippage.

[z726]

You're not just putting it up against your skin - the inner foreskin, urethral opening, and surface of the glans are all mucous membrane, which is more fragile and can be more easily infected. Clean your device after use, and even before use if it's been stored out in the open.

[will54]

absolutely clean daily- once a week through the dish washer.

[Swingshiftworker]

I clean my tugger when I think it is necessary. When is it necesary? When the smell bothers me (it always smells after use) and/or slips. This is not daily. Just use an anti-bacterial soap to do the job. Not UTIs or any other issues doing it this way.

[greg_b]

As others have pointed out, there are two main reasons to clean your device, reducing the risk of urinary tract infections, and to help the device grip your skin. How often to clean will depend upon several things that you need to ponder:

Your tolerance for risking a urinary tract infection

How much trouble you are having with getting the device to grip your skin

How long you wear it, the more hours you wear it between cleanings, the more microorganisms and skin oils will accumulate

How much trouble it is for you to clean it

I find cleaning my inserts (when I was using tape and an insert) and air device pretty easy, so I do it frequently. Not much different than washing my hands in terms of ease and time. Of course, cleaning interrupts your tugging for a period of time, so if you prefer to wear as close to 25/7/365, then that may be an issue. But if you take breaks from tugging on a daily or weekly basis, you could time your washing to occur at those times, of course. You could even accommodate a 15 minute soak in a 1:15 solution of bleach to be as safe as possible from infection with out that much trouble. We used to do that with the equipment when I taught CPR, it was not really that difficult to accommodate.

Consider your tugging routine and see if cleaning could be integrated into it without too much trouble. My guess is it can be and once you get the routine down, you won't find it burdensome.

Regards

[admin]

use an anti-bacterial soap

I use plain soap.

I don't allow antibiotic-laced anything into the house.

[Allie2k14]

For me, just plain soap and hot water, once daily, does the trick. No sigle urinary tract issue so far after 2 years of usage.

[Lost&Found]

Same here. I just use plain dish or hand soap and water before each use. Haven't had any issues in over a year.

[Swingshiftworker]

I use plain soap.

I don't allow antibiotic-laced anything into the house.

Your choice.

Given the build up of urine, precum and whatever under the Tugger cone I don't think it can hurt to clean the Tugger w/anti-bacterial soap. I'm aware of the negative issues concerning anti-bacterial soaps but I don't use them that much -- I use plain soap more often -- and am not personally worried about it.

Do you not use anti-bacterial ointment on cuts/abrasions for the same/similar reasons?

[parsecskin]

As long as you thoroughly wash it with HOT water, it shouldn't matter.