AniaR
12-27-2013, 09:24 AM
So I've spoken a lot about cleaning your tail in other threads and in my book, but I wanted to talk specifically about the issues of mold growing in pure silicone tails.
Mold can be prevented by making sure your tail is dry inside, lessening whatever deterioration you can (that's rinsing chlorine off, chlorine will eat away at silicone making it more porous which means more places for mold to grow), and cleaning with things specifically made for silicone. I usually rinse with warm water and gentle soap, then I spray with silicone sex toy cleaner. Why? because sex toy cleaner kills mold and other bacteria without harming the silicone. Then I wipe the inside of my tail dry as best as I can, and then I put two or three pool noodles inside my tail to prop it open and let air get all the way in. Note, I'm talking about full silicone tails, not partial. I would not use a boot dryer on a full silicone tail. But if you can manage to prop your tail up, a fan helps too.
It pays to take proper care of your tail. It means less deterioration and stress on the tail. If you don't, you'll get cracks in the scales, you could possibly get holes, weak spots, and most certainly, mold.
What happens when you get mold? Your tail might stink. but also, you can get serious rashes on your skin. How do I know? I found out the hard way. I had been using my tail for over a year before I first got mold. It was my fault, I'd gotten sick right after a gig and didn't clean and dry my own tail. My merwrangler rinsed it and then just laid it out with nothing done to dry the inside. He didn't know any better. The next time I put my tail on, I didn't smell anything, but I got a huge terrible rash all over my legs and butt. I rolled my tail down, and sure enough, all in the seams- black mold! I tried a few things to scrub it out- but getting mold out of seams and out from under mesh? Not exactly easy. I was scared about what solutions to use to clean it. I tried my sex toy cleaner which is great at preventing mold, but it obviously didn't kill it once it got this bad.
So, I called smooth on! I explained the situation and that I wanted to know what was the most effective thing for killing mold, that wouldnt destroy the silicone. They told meIsopropyl alcohol and it worked like a charm. So now, I use it once a month as regular maintenance.
Even though the mold was dead, it was impossible to get it out of the seams. So to prevent it from regrowing and collecting in the seams, I bought some silicone, rolled the tail down, and simply re-siliconed the seams right over the dead mold.
After doing all that, it didn't happen again :)
There are certain areas of your tail that will be easier places to grow mold. That's the seams, and hard to reach places like your foot pockets and ankle area. But if you can keep it under wraps you'll extend the life of your tail.
Tails aren't indestructible, and they will weather over time, no matter how great they've been made. So do yourself a favour and care for it properly :)
Mold can be prevented by making sure your tail is dry inside, lessening whatever deterioration you can (that's rinsing chlorine off, chlorine will eat away at silicone making it more porous which means more places for mold to grow), and cleaning with things specifically made for silicone. I usually rinse with warm water and gentle soap, then I spray with silicone sex toy cleaner. Why? because sex toy cleaner kills mold and other bacteria without harming the silicone. Then I wipe the inside of my tail dry as best as I can, and then I put two or three pool noodles inside my tail to prop it open and let air get all the way in. Note, I'm talking about full silicone tails, not partial. I would not use a boot dryer on a full silicone tail. But if you can manage to prop your tail up, a fan helps too.
It pays to take proper care of your tail. It means less deterioration and stress on the tail. If you don't, you'll get cracks in the scales, you could possibly get holes, weak spots, and most certainly, mold.
What happens when you get mold? Your tail might stink. but also, you can get serious rashes on your skin. How do I know? I found out the hard way. I had been using my tail for over a year before I first got mold. It was my fault, I'd gotten sick right after a gig and didn't clean and dry my own tail. My merwrangler rinsed it and then just laid it out with nothing done to dry the inside. He didn't know any better. The next time I put my tail on, I didn't smell anything, but I got a huge terrible rash all over my legs and butt. I rolled my tail down, and sure enough, all in the seams- black mold! I tried a few things to scrub it out- but getting mold out of seams and out from under mesh? Not exactly easy. I was scared about what solutions to use to clean it. I tried my sex toy cleaner which is great at preventing mold, but it obviously didn't kill it once it got this bad.
So, I called smooth on! I explained the situation and that I wanted to know what was the most effective thing for killing mold, that wouldnt destroy the silicone. They told meIsopropyl alcohol and it worked like a charm. So now, I use it once a month as regular maintenance.
Even though the mold was dead, it was impossible to get it out of the seams. So to prevent it from regrowing and collecting in the seams, I bought some silicone, rolled the tail down, and simply re-siliconed the seams right over the dead mold.
After doing all that, it didn't happen again :)
There are certain areas of your tail that will be easier places to grow mold. That's the seams, and hard to reach places like your foot pockets and ankle area. But if you can keep it under wraps you'll extend the life of your tail.
Tails aren't indestructible, and they will weather over time, no matter how great they've been made. So do yourself a favour and care for it properly :)