??What is a patchouli ????

You know, that smell when Phish is playing.

I've found zero or woolite work really well and leave a very pleasant smell that's good to wake up to - not lie shebreeze!

Remove pads, soak, squeeze, soak, squeeze, rince, squeeze, rinse - etc. Straps can just soak in a solution of the stuff.

every part of the helmet (inside) should also be rinsed with the stuff, especially if you've got a 'fro!

You may just be tired of your own helmet stink. Try wearing another guy's sweaty helmet for a while. Buy one off of EBay. Search for "dirty" or "needs cleaning" or "could use a wash." Look carefully for signs of long-term sweat such as yellowish labels inside the lid. The helmet shouldn't cost more than $40.

You can smell a good sweaty lid the moment you open the box it was shipped in. Put your new lid on and go for a ride. Breathe in the other guy's stink. Because it's so different from your own, it will be like new to you.

For me, the best used lids come from guys who don't often wash their hair or face. The smell of another guy's dirty hair is amazing. Wearing it on my head is awesome. There's nothing like it. Only several years of long, sweaty riding by another guy, preferably with dirty hair, makes a helmet fun to wear.

Try it. Once you do, you'll build up a collection of other guys' sweaty helmets. One of my favorites is a filthy Icon Alliance. The other guy's stink overpowers my own. His stink is a sort-of deodorizer. I love getting in this lid and smelling thousands of miles of the other guy's dirty, sweaty hair.

My helmet is 11 years old, never been washed since new and it doesn't smell.

I personally prefer wearing used aeromatic helmets. One guy's helmet stink is another guy's new-helmet-smell.

Get in a crash big enough to do visible damage to the helmet. Gives you an excuse to buy a new one. Worked for me!

As suggested elsewhere, I attempted washing the removable pads with warm water and soap. The adhesive on them started coming apart. Not good. The straps were filthy, so I just pulled them out and had my wife run them through the washing machine. Before taking them apart, I took pictures of how they were threaded through, of course. The rest of the helmet, it's clean enough.