Domina's Shopping and Home Manufacturing Tips

 

Birch Bundle

White birch, of course, makes the best bundle, but any sort of twiggy tree will do. Gather bushy branches about two-two and a half feet long. Remove all small twigs from the heavier end for about 7 inches. (Unless they fold down nicely into the bushy end.) A bundle that is a nice, comfortable handful down at the heavy end is the best. Too big defeats the purpose. I usually wrap a couple or three twist ties around the handle end for real control.

Take colorful, thin, ribbon and wrap it around the birch bundle handle beginning where the handle meets the branches and continuing to the end of the handle. If you are skilled, macramé looks very nice in a spiral pattern. Tie the end into a bow . Now you have a nice, grabbable handle that won't hurt your hand, and the bushy, scratchy, stingy bundle of branches makes a nice sensation toy for your sub. The fresher the branches, the more stingy the bundle. The dryer the branches, the more scratchy they are. Eventually, they will dry out, break up and you will have to go cut more branches. Domina charges $13 plus shipping and handling for this toy.......so you are better off making your own. I can't guarantee this against breakage for obvious reasons.

Removing Blood From Leather Toys

One morning after a party in which someone DID get cut with a whip, I thought about the likelihood of getting blood on one of my lovely leather floggers. Rubber floggers and other colorfast toys can be cleaned with bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and other disinfectants. Leather is a bit less "cleanable." 

Here are two numbers from Brooke that have information on STDs.

CDC Hepatitis Information Hotline 1-888-4-HEP-CDC

CDC National AIDS Hotline 1-800-342-2437

I asked for advice from a couple of newsgroups, and here are answers I received: 

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To clean blood from leather toys, I suggest the following procedure:

1. Use peroxide to remove the blood. Peroxide actually dissolves the blood.
Caution: Peroxide is also a bleach (for those who don't understand dumb blonde jokes) and may discolor the leather.

2. The peroxide cleaning will probably still leave a light pink discoloration. You may be able to remove this with SADDLE SOAP. After "washing" the leather with saddle soap, let the leather dry for a day or so.

3. Rub NEATSFOOT OIL into the leather. This will restore the moisture and suppleness that was removed from the leather by the peroxide and saddle soap treatments. Neatsfoot oil is available at hardware stores and most leather shops.

Notes:

1. These steps will work on natural leather, but may not be effective on leathers that have high polish finish.

2. Do not use this procedure on suede! It may cause serious damage.

(note from Domina:  Neatsfoot oil is TERRIBLE on leather.  It will make it sticky and greasy)

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The technique I've heard is as follows:

Wipe well with warm soapy water. Cover the leather with a layer of Betadine. Let it dry thoroughly. Wipe it with a clean dry cloth. Recondition it. (Note: Betadine will stain light-colored leather.)

I'm told that exposing the contaminated toy to direct bright sunlight for a day or two also kills all pertinent bugs.

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Another friend told me that you actually CAN have leather floggers cleaned by dry cleaners by whatever method they use to clean fine leather. He swears this will also disinfect them. I would suggest asking the cleaner just how much of a disinfectant his method is.

I love two products: for conditioning/restoration of garment leathers: Fiebing's *Leather Balm*, and for quick cleaning/conditioning, *Tannery* (K&W products). Both of these have two qualities I searched long for: they are easy to use, and they leave the leather looking, feeling *and smelling* better than new! They also happen to be economically priced, so use 'em on your leather furniture! :) They do help with water and stain resistance, but are intended for smooth leathers, not suede.

Suede presents a special problem RE: conditioning, but silicone spray prior to first use does help prevent moisture staining, etc. For tresses of often-used whips, I believe it should be replenished somewhat frequently.

Adam's Sensual Whips offers string- and cord-tress whips which I'm sure are washable. For intimate whipping, such as for the genital area, or where blood is likely to flow, use cheap (disposable) or washable whips. Either that, or have each bottom supply their own! ;)

When you are cleaning your tools and toys, remember the *handle* is destined to be a bacteria hotel, so clean it too. And wash your hands *before* you eat! And floss...floss every day.

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I've always used a stronger than 10% bleach solution which may be why I  find it discolors my whips. I'll try a less strong solution and see what happens. I thought it had to be at least 20% to even scare the HIV virus.

Also, a vinegar solution is good for disinfection. I recommend a 5% solution diluted one part to four. (note from Domina--as far as I can find out, vinegar has no effect on germs.)

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Since this was posted, I've done some research and hydrogen peroxide has NO effect on germs and viruses. The good news is that if you DO contaminate a toy, the Aids virus dies within seconds of being exposed to air. Hep C can last   for an indefinite period. Most other STDs are not as long lasting ad Hep C, and the information is changing all the time.  It would seem reasonable that if you hung up that toy for a week, the chances of spreading something with that toy would be a lot less. I'm currently using a viricide called Staphene on my floggers and such. Staphene is used in hospitals (you can get it from Choice Medical in Seattle). Staphene is wonderful on non-porous surfaces, a bit iffy on porous ones. I figure it's better than any of the other current choices for use on leather as it's not hurt my floggers yet, and I've been using it for about six months. I still use a 50% bleach solution for cleaning anything that I can safely clean with bleach. There is also a new item called Technicare which is a hospital disinfectant for skin and may work on leather (which is skin, you know, just tanned.)  I haven't tried it yet, but it's supposed to be incredible for disinfecting skin.  Anyone who tries it on leather, let me know what it does.  Domina
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