We are very excited to have just added the rechargeable finger tip vibe Isis to our collection!
Not only is it a great mini vibe, but it is also made a of a unique material that kinda-sorta cleans itself.. kinda.
According to the manufacturers:
Isis has a unique antibacterial agent incorporated into the soft plastic. When in contact with moisture, the outer layer of the chemical make-up in the plastic slowly dissolves, releasing silver ions to the surface. This process happens each time the toy is wiped down. Imagine its like an onion, each time you peel away a layer, another layer replaces it. The silver ions are the biologically active component and are 99.9% effective against a wide range of micro-organisms. with water, it becomes sterile and ready to use again.
But our in-house materials-genius Kayo thinks it is better explained this way:
Basically the plastic they used to make the toy has a filler in it. It’s the same principle as the “pleasantly smelling” toys, except an antibacterial filler instead of a perfume. The particular compound that they’ve added is reactive with water. Since they used a soft plastic for the toy, it’s porous, so the water can get down into the plastic and activate whatever part of the antibiotic is closest to the surface. The whole bit about replacing itself with a whole new layer is kinda BS…that would require magic. When the toy is brand new some of the antibacterial filler is gonna be right up at surface level. After that, upon reacting with the water, the activated antimicrobial will move to the surface of the toy, but it’s leaving a gap behind it. The water will work its way through the toy until all of the component is used up.
A lot of companies are using silver-based antimicrobials and antibacterials to improve the cleanliness or their products. BUT, as it says right in description, what they’re using is just antibacterial, so it’s only killing bacteria. Yeast, mold, viruses, and other microorganisms can still survive on the toy. If what they meant was antimicrobial, then they’re killing of yeast, molds, etc. also. But, no matter what the particular compound they’re using is, it’s not killing off viruses.
So yes, this toys does have some self-cleaning properties, but you still want to use a gentle soap to clean it.
