It has been duly noted that most motorcycle riders care about their rides and take good care of it by cleaning and doing timely maintenance checks. In fact, it is a good hobby that you actually care about your motorcycle. But, ignoring your riding gear and accessories is not a good idea. How come you ignore a dirty motorcycle helmet or a smelly jacket? A piece of advice! A motorcycle helmet and the rest of your riding gear need cleaning as much as your ride needs it. Especially, a motorcycle helmet, which is a piece of equipment that can give you many years of protection, if properly maintained.
It doesn’t matter if you are a new or experienced rider, as long as you are using a helmet while motorcycle riding, it needs proper cleaning inside out. It can’t clean itself. Right?
This is why we are here today, to help you with cleaning your dirty/smelly motorcycle helmet. Let’s find out why cleaning a motorcycle helmet is important and how we can clean a motorcycle helmet with ease.
Why Cleaning a Motorcycle Helmet is Important?
You can’t deny the fact that nobody wants to go for a ride wearing a smelly, dirty helmet. Keeping it fresh is the only option to have a pleasant and safe ride. But, there is a bigger concern here, which needs to be discussed.
An exterior shell and visor are important parts of a helmet that protects us from external dangers. So, you can imagine, what would happen if you are riding with a dirty visor, which is blocking your vision while riding? We believe you’ve got a clear image of what we are trying to tell you. Next are the lining and padding of the helmet in the interior area, which needs to be removed and washed, if possible. Due to excessive sweat and moisture, the padding and liner will build up a harmful layer of bacteria, which can damage your skin by causing skin irritation.
We are pretty sure you don’t want that to happen to you.
Now, that you know the importance, let’s go to “how to clean your motorcycle helmet?”
First, we would like to inform you that cleaning a motorcycle helmet is no big deal, as long as you take precautions and follow the steps in chronological order. Cleaning and maintaining don’t require special tools or equipment. On the contrary, you can do this with some basic cleaning items.
How to Clean Your Motorcycle Helmet?
The steps given below are written using our best practices, where we have had success in the cleaning process of several kinds of helmets. Still, we would suggest you consult with your helmet’s owner manual for more specific details.
Just to be clear, our practices will not harm your helmet on any level and won’t void the manufacturer’s warranty.
#1 Collect the Right Materials
Gathering all necessary materials first will help you save some time cleaning your motorcycle helmet. Here, we mention some basic materials, which can be replaced by the ones that work best. You can choose other options since there are certainly many alternatives.
Let’s start with a clean rag. To wash your helmet and the face shield you don’t need a brand new rag just a clean one. Make sure there aren’t any dust particles on it. Otherwise, you may damage your helmet even more.
Next on the list is a toothbrush, which also doesn’t have to be new. On the contrary, an old, clean toothbrush will do the job and reach places where your microfiber cloth cannot.
Keep some baby shampoo with you as you clean the helmet. This is because baby shampoo is usually non-petroleum based and works as a good cleaning agent. And to loosen the dirt and dead bugs from your helmet, make sure you have a sufficient amount of warm water to wash your helmet without harming it.
#2 Check for Electronic Accessories
This is probably stating the obvious, but removing an electronic accessory like the Bluetooth communicator units or batteries is important. If you wash your helmet without removing internal electronic accessories, then there is a good chance it will be damaged before you finish cleaning. So, make sure, it doesn’t slip your mind. Always do this whether you are working on modular helmets or dirt bike helmets.
#3 Remove the Interior
It is preferable to remove the internal liner and cheek pads before washing the helmet. In order to do that first, you can check the owner’s manual to learn how to remove liner and pads in a safe manner.
#4 Cleaning the Exterior
The very first thing to perform is to dampen it with water and use the clean rag soaked in warm water and place it on top of the helmet shell and leave for a few minutes. Once the helmet is clean, remove the rag and the visor and dip the rag in water once again and wring out the excess.
Use the same rag to finish washing the exterior. To reach the small spaces and corners, you can use a toothbrush.
Note: – Don’t use any chemical product on the helmet’s surface and visor because many chemical products applied over time can seriously damage the surface and weaken its protective properties.
The same goes for car polish and alcohol, which you don’t need to rub on the EPS liner. If you do, you may lose the impact-absorbing property of the EPS liner.
Next, you can use the same rag to clean the visor and then dry both the visor and the shell with a piece of clean dry cloth.
#5 Cleaning the Interior
It is time to clean the liner and cheek pads that you have already removed. For starters, you can wash both in a bucket or hand wash in a sink, or wash with mild soap in a washing machine. Baby shampoo would be the most appropriate choice to not damage the wicking properties of the fabric during washing.
Once you finish washing the interior liner and the cheek pads, let them air-dry. We don’t recommend drying with any heating product since exposing them to heat may cause the fabric to shrink.
#6 Reassemble
Now that you have finished washing, you can reassemble your helmet by attaching all the parts that you removed prior to cleaning.
Final Thoughts:
Washing a motorcycle helmet is no big deal. It’s just that you have to make sure you don’t overdo it. Use basic materials and follow the steps mentioned above. As long as you are following the above steps, you don’t have to worry about anything. This is a basic, yet effective way to clean and maintain your motorcycle helmet. However, there are a few things you must keep in mind, such as using any hard solvents or chemical products that will certainly harm the protective properties of your motorcycle helmet.
If you still have any questions or would like to add something, please mention it in the comment section below.
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