Care

Platinum silicone is close to indestructible and will outlast almost anything else in the drawer. There are about four ways to ruin it, and one of them catches nearly everybody once. This is all of them.

Before the first use

It comes clean, but it has been made, trimmed, boxed and posted, so wash it before it goes anywhere near you. Warm water, a mild unscented soap, and a proper rinse. That is the whole ritual.

New silicone sometimes has a faint smell for a day or two. That is normal and it goes.

Lube: water based only

This is the one. Silicone lube bonds to silicone toys. It makes the surface go tacky and very slightly melted, it will not wash off, and it does not come back. The piece is not dirty at that point, it is damaged.

Use water based. Generously, and more often than you think. Silicone drags when it dries out.
Avoid silicone and hybrid lubes. Hybrids contain enough silicone to do it slowly rather than quickly.
Oils are a maybe, and not worth it. They will not melt silicone, but they cling in the texture, go rancid and wreck condoms. Skip them.
If you are unsure what is in the bottle, put a smear on the underside of the base, leave it an hour, then wipe it off. If the surface has gone sticky, you have your answer and you have only spoiled a part nobody looks at.

Washing, every time

Before and after. Before matters as much as after, because whatever was on it while it sat in the box is what goes in with it.

Warm water and a mild unscented soap. Hands, not a cloth.
Work into the texture. The vein detail and the ridge under the head are where everything hides.
Rinse properly, twice. Soap left in the detail is what causes irritation. People blame the silicone and it is almost always the soap.
Do not use antibacterial washing up liquid, scented shower gel, alcohol, bleach or anything abrasive. None of them are needed and all of them are harsher on you than on the toy.

The Big Andy freshly washed, beaded with water — Washed, rinsed twice, and not yet dried.

Sterilising, when it is worth it

Washing is enough for normal use. Sterilise when a piece has been shared, has been used anally and is going anywhere else, or has been sitting unused for a long time.

Boiling. Three to five minutes in a rolling boil. Do not let it sit against the bottom of a dry pan.
Dishwasher. Top rack, no detergent, no heated dry.
10% bleach solution if you must, followed by a very thorough rinse. Honestly, boiling is easier and leaves nothing behind.

Both of ours are one hundred percent platinum silicone throughout with nothing rigid or electronic inside, so both can be boiled. Never boil a toy with a motor, a core, or a coating, and if you do not know what is inside something, do not boil it.

Drying

Air dry standing on its base, or pat dry with a lint free cloth. A bath towel will leave fluff in the texture and silicone is a magnet for it. Let it dry completely before it goes back in the box, because a damp piece in a closed foam insert is how you get a smell.

The Little Andy freshly washed, beaded with water — Let it dry completely before it goes back in the foam.

Storage

Silicone attracts dust and, more importantly, it will take colour and plasticiser out of anything dyed or soft that it is pressed against.

Keep it in its own box. That is what the foam insert is cut for, and it is the reason the box is worth keeping.
Do not store it touching other toys, particularly jelly, PVC, TPE or anything cheap and soft. It can leach into the silicone permanently and leave a stain and a tacky patch.
Out of direct sunlight, and nowhere hot.
A cotton bag inside the box is fine. A sealed plastic bag is not.

The base and the strap loop

The suction base holds on tile, glass, a sealed worktop or a headboard. It wants a clean, smooth, dry, non porous surface. Wipe both the base and the surface first, press down firmly, and give it a second.

Lube on the base is what stops it sticking. Keep it off, or wipe it off.
To release it, lift an edge rather than pulling straight up. Yanking it repeatedly is the one thing likely to tear the base over time.
The strap loop on The Big Andy fits standard O ring harnesses. Check the ring size against the base before you buy a harness, not after.

Sharing

If it is going between people, put a condom on it and change that between partners. Washing between uses is good practice and it is not the same thing as a barrier. Same rule if it is moving between anal and anything else in one session: barrier, or wash properly in between.

Checking it, and when to stop using it

Give it a look over every so often, particularly around the base and the underside where it takes the load.

Surface marks and dulling are cosmetic. Silicone loses its shine with age and it does not matter.
A tacky or sticky patch that does not wash off means it has met silicone lube or been stored against something that has leached into it. Retire it.
Any tear, split or nick, however small, means retire it. A cut in the surface cannot be cleaned properly and it will only open up.

Silicone is not recyclable in a household bin. It goes in general waste, wrapped, or to a specialist recycler if you have one locally.

Warmth

If you want it warm, stand it in a jug of warm water for a few minutes and dry it off. Do not use a microwave, do not use boiling water straight from the kettle, and test it against the inside of your wrist before anything else. Silicone holds heat for a long time and it does not feel as hot in the hand as it will elsewhere.

Travel

It is silicone, so it is not a security problem and it does not need declaring. Wash it before it goes in the bag, keep it in its own box or a cotton bag, and keep it away from anything that will press a dye into it. The outer box is unbranded, which is the point.