While most battery powered vibrators come with a built-in obsolescence, there are a few key things you can do to extend the life of your toy.
How To Extend The Life Of Your Vibrators?
Don’t Run It Too Long
With very few exceptions, most vibrators should only be run for 20-30 minutes at a time. The motors are small and need to cool down. They can overheat easily, and even if you do not put it out the first time, the wear on the motor reduces the lifespan of the toy.
Remove The Batteries When Not In Use
This is important for two reasons. Firstly, it prevents you from leaving the vibrator on accidentally, which will burn out the motor. It also reduces the chance of the batteries corroding inside the vibrator, which will usually mean the end of the toy.
Use Condoms On A Plain Rubber Vibrator
If your vibrator is not made of silicone and is not hard plastic, it is likely made of an inexpensive, porous form of rubber mix. These toys are notoriously hard to keep clean, and they can get dirty and stay dirty from regular use. Using a condom on these toys will both reduce your chance of reacting to the material and make the material last longer as you won’t have to be scrubbing it after each use.
Be Gentle
With attachment cords and battery caps it’s important to be gentle with your toys. Don’t pull on the cords, and never use a cord to retrieve a toy! Make sure not to screw the caps too tight. If the cap is in two parts (often they are red and black) make sure to only use the dial to adjust the speed, not to open and close the toy.
Watch The Seal On Waterproof Toys
More and more vibrators are waterproof these days. This is made possible by a rubber O-ring that fits along the rim of the vibrator. Once the O-ring breaks your toy is no longer waterproof and you either need to keep it out of the water or replace the o-ring.
How To Fix A Battery Powered Vibrator
It is a sad but true fact that battery powered vibrators tend to be poorly thought out, and have a built in obsolescence. While there are always exceptions to the rule most battery powered sex toys will last between a couple weeks and a couple years. More reputable sex stores will offer some sort of warranty with their products (the standard seems to be about 30 days).
In addition to some preventative measures there are a few common problems that can be easily checked that may bring your toy back to life.
Most problems that can be fixed are related to the batteries and the connections inside the vibrator.
Fixing The Spring
A common problem with older vibrators is that the spring in the cap becomes flattened and no longer keeps a tight connection between the batteries and the connectors at the top and bottom of the vibrator. You can open up your vibrator and gently pull the spring up to reestablish a snug connection.
Check For Something Blocking The Connectors
Many battery powered vibrators have a piece of plastic or paper inside the battery compartment. This is there to keep the vibrator quieter, by preventing extra noise of batteries rattling in the case. Over time this piece of paper can slide down and get lodged in front of the connectors. You can remove this paper or plastic entirely. If your toy begins to make a lot of noise you can replace it with a new rolled up piece of paper.
Pulling Up The Connectors
Battery powered vibrator caps that do not use a spring to make a connection often have two connectors at the top of the cap. Over time these connectors get depressed and no longer allow for a tight connection (which in turn, could depress the owner of the toy!) Gently lift the connectors up to ensure a snug connection when the cap is closed.
