Sex toy cleaner is a dedicated spray or foam for non porous toys, made to clean faster than soap and water and to travel better. You will find foaming cleaners built for silicone, glass and stainless steel, which are the materials worth owning in the first place.
A sex toy cleaner is a spray or foam formulated to clean non porous toy surfaces without damaging them. It is not soap and it is not a disinfectant in the medical sense. It lifts body fluid and lubricant residue off silicone, glass and stainless steel quickly, then evaporates or wipes away without leaving a film.
Whether you need one is a fair question. Unscented soap and warm water cleans a non porous toy perfectly well, and for anything fully waterproof so does a few minutes in boiling water. A dedicated cleaner wins on speed and convenience instead: at the bedside, in a bag, in a hotel, or with anything motorized that cannot go under a tap.
The part that matters more than which cleaner you pick: a porous toy cannot be sanitized at all. Jelly, TPE, TPR and anything sold as body safe without naming a material hold bacteria inside the material itself, where nothing you spray on it reaches. Cleaning extends the life of a non porous toy. On a porous one it only buys time, which is the real argument for owning silicone, glass or steel to begin with.
Cleaners differ by format and by formula, and the format is most of the decision.
If your toys are silicone, glass or steel: any dedicated cleaner works, so buy on scent and format. Non porous surfaces are forgiving, and the difference between cleaners is convenience rather than performance.
If a toy has a motor: wipe it, never submerge it. Foam and a cloth, unless the toy is rated fully waterproof, and check the rating instead of assuming it.
If you share toys, or switch between anal and vaginal use: a cleaner on its own is not enough. Use a condom over the toy and change it, or keep separate toys. This is the one situation where cleaning between uses does not cover you.
If you are cleaning off silicone lubricant: it takes more work, which is one more reason to default to water based. A water based lubricant rinses off, and it will not degrade a silicone toy the way silicone lubricant does.
After cleaning: air dry completely, then store toys apart from each other. Silicone pressed against silicone can react and go tacky, which is what Toy Storage and Travel Bags is for. A damp toy shut in a drawer is the actual hygiene problem.
On what not to do: no alcohol, no bleach, no dish soap on silicone. Alcohol dries and cracks the surface over time, and harsh detergents leave a residue that irritates.
