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OK, so my helmet is not smelling as springtime fresh as it once was.

Any suggestions to restore that "new helmet" smell?

You can't really hang one of those green trees in it....

ken k

I don't know how you can restore the original "smell", but I have been spraying the interior of mine with lysol (choose your favorite lysol scent) after each long ride. Kills bacteria and leaves the helmet smelling fresh for the next time I wear it.

I guess you didn't know Lysol makes your hair fall out.

Doesn't your lining come out to be washed?

I have seen an article that says you can wash the inside with dish soap and hot water. I have never tried it and it seems it would take a long time to dry. For some reason, I love the smell of the inside of my helmet! It's 4 years old and never been cleaned!

just sayin'

Boxer wrote:I guess you didn't know Lysol makes your hair fall out.

well my hair has been falling out without Lysol. I would hate to see what would happen if i used it...

ken k

Ves wrote:Doesn't your lining come out to be washed?

I know i can take out the cheek pads. I do not know about the lining.

So i could just throw them in the washer? Or would it be better to hand wash?

I have a Shoei RF-1000.

k

i was considering Lysol or Febreeze. i just thought I would see what others did.

k

It is really easy to wash a helmet, and you should do it periodically. I dunk mine in a bath tub and use a very small amount of baby shampoo and work the suds in with my fingers. Then I rinse it thoroughly. Then I place it on a towel to dry. It takes several days to dry.

In between washings, I use a product called helmet fresh that I got from cycle gadgets.

I recently washed my Shoei multitec (for the first time)

1) Remove the cheekpads
2) Remove the chin-strap liners
3) Remove the visor

Then i filled up the sink with luke wam water, added some gentle shampoo (the kind you use to hand wash delicate clothes) and submerged the helmet - while giving it a rather enjoyable (gentle) scrubbing
Cheekpads and chin liners got the same treatment...


Basically, the helmets interior is only dirty from sweat & salt - both of which are easily cleaned away by mild soap/shampoo.

Once done, i refilled the sink with clean water (no soap or shampoo) and washed the helmet (+pads & straps) until all the soapy residue had dissapeared.

I dried the exterior with a soft towel and left the helmet outside (away from the sun)

By morning time (its REALLY HOT over here ) my helmet was completely dry and smelled fantastic.

So, wash you helmet. Your face & nose will thank you

I took a warm summer ride last year in the country (almost everything in AR is in the country) and I kept thinking, "I didn't know they had chicken farms out here." (And the do have a lot of chicken farms in some parts of AR.) Way back, I took the slab (I-40) and kept on smelling those chicken houses....

This was never a problem when I wore a 3/4 helmet!

Yeah, you can (and should) wash your helmet. On mine, I just took the pads out.

I also got some of that helmet freshner at Cycle Gear. It works, and got rid of those smelly but unseen chicken farms (but it makes your hair fall out).