Washing a bike helmet liner?

[Itchy]

I've discovered that wearing my shark helmet which fits rather nicely on my head that the insides are just TOO scummy (they were covered in mold when I got my bike back off the container ship)

But then it had been stuck on my head through mud sweat and tears of my Russian Adventure and therefore absorbed rather a lot of my head sweat and grime.

In that when I wear it my skin comes out in a rash and goes lumpy for a few days.


It can't be as simple as bung it in the washing machine and no matter how much I soap up the cheek panels (the liner on the top is ok as it is identical to my other Shark helmet I ruined.

In that I soap them up with washing powder and grime just keeps coming out, you're not supposed to squeeze them or anything so how do you wash yours?


Thanks.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[.....]

I thought baby shampoo in the bath was the typical method? Keep on going until clean.

[The Artist]

Bathtub full of hot water and lots of soap, keep washing until is clean. There is a pic on here somewhere of someone washing a simpson helmet and the water is proper brown

[neil.]

Hmm my current one has had a year and a half of daily use, 2 hours a day. Maybe I should wash it...
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CBT February 2008 | A2 June 2008 | Yamaha YBR125 (written off) | Honda CBF125 (current)

[Tim..]

Remove liner parts from helmet

Put all the liner parts into a pillow case,

Tie a knot in said pillow case to keep it all contained.

Machine wash with Persil on delicate cycle.

Take out machine

Leave to dry thoroughly

Replace liner into helmet

Job done

Done it many times
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OCD - Helping to bring the standard of my bikes up and make me slowly go mad since 1999

[FURBAR]

N1 Timmy !
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Fuk um !!

[Nixon]

Are you talking about the liner, as in the polystyrene liner; or are you talking about the cushioned liner?

If its only the cushioned liners then don't worry about squeezing them they will be fine, its only soft upholstery foam at the end of the day.
What I do with mine is cover them in normal unscented hand soap then dunk them in water for a second or two and then let them absorb all the soap and water, then squeeze and rinse out until its all clean clear water coming out.

If they are backed by the polystyrene (like mine are) just be careful not to squeeze or compress these too hard, but they should be pretty resilient.

Then with the polystyrene shell i just get a clean sponge wring it out so its moist but not wet, add a load of normal hand soap onto it and lather up the inside, not pressing hard and not getting it wet just moist and soapy.

Then a couple wipes over with a damp (not wet) clean sponge to remove the lather until all the suds are gone and a quick wipe over with kitchen towel and its nice and clean.

If you can do it without getting the sponge too wet it only takes 10 min to dry

In the mean time, if the cheek pads have covers on them you can just throw them into the washing machine on a delicate setting.

Thats how I do mine, Hope its of some help

[Tonka]

The inside bits of the helmet that come out get thrown in the washing machine with everything else on a quick wash at 40c wash. For the bits that are fabric and don't come out I use the disposable face wipes and give the fabric a rub until clean(er). I just put them in the airing cupboard to dry out over night.

The Duchini 'dirty bike' helmet gets washed much more frequently than the Shoei road bike helmet, as it gets dirtier being open. I reckon I wash it every other ride or so which makes it about twice a month. The Shoei has been completely cleaned about 4 times so that is more like once every 4 month's wear, but to be fair I always have clean hair when I wear it and the cheek pads get washed more frequently as they are pop out.
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'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
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[dspr]

I was just about to start another thread on how to wash my helmet. There's some pretty solid answers here and I found this mx post too. Thought I'd share it too in case anyone else wanted to know https://www.mxstore.com.au/blog/helpful-advice-handy-tips/how-to-wash-your-motocross-helmet/

[Bessjackson57...]

I tried to wash my helmet in washing machine and ended up destroying the liner. I forgot the name of the helmet but costs me around 650 dollars. After that my sister bought me a helmet that costs around 250 and was much better than my previous helmet.

[gbrand42]