After biking on a hot day, I notice my hair is all sweaty and ugh
So, I never washed the straps or the little foam inside the helmet.
Do you clean it? I am going to wash after smelling the straps today and smelling it and ....

Wash by hand in a sink, warm water with mild detergent.

Rinse well, you don't want the detergent staying in the straps, it can irritate skin.

Pretty simple really.

Dear lord yes, wash it.

Yep. Pretty simple. I take mine in the shower and use shampoo every now and then. Too easy.

Be careful with the foam inside as in my experience is comes to pieces quite easily. I look for helmets for which replacement padding is available, but these are not as common as they once were. I managed to pick up a Giro Foray MIPS helmet this year at a knock down price - replacement pads are available for this one. In spite of what the manufacturers would like you to believe there isn't really any reason to replace a helmet unless it's taken a hit, so the lack of replacement padding is what tends to limit its life for me.

Remove the liner and wash it with soap, moisten the liner and apply soap (Rubbing hard may cause damage), then wash with water, dry in the shade.

Rinse with water after each ride. The water left over in a bike bottle, if any, is perfect. Just squirt it on the pads and straps when you get off your bike. Done.

If the helmet is bad now then just bring the whole thing into the shower. Again, done.


-Tim-

It's not rocket surgery.

Holy hell, I never thought I'd actually see you doing this, only CLAIMING to have done it!!!

So... who's the cameraman? No peacocking?

Oft-used photo from the Interwebs.

Just wear something like this

https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/...-liner-pa-vthl

Rinse it out when desired and don't worry about the helmet.

Some simply bring the helmet with them into the shower and call it done.
I regularly pull the straps and pads out, stuff them in a laundry bag and run them through with the rest of my bike kit.

Darn, I was starting to feel much closer to you...
I was like "Huh! This guy gets it!"

Ah well, you could just lie to me...
/tell me lies
//tell me sweet little lies

Oh yeah - will do a throughout wash today . I checked the straps and it seems is not simple to just remove it from the helmet body in my case.

Dishwasher, top shelf. Put it out in the sun to dry.

Wash it with the guy who's saddle smells like ass

I wear a cycling cap and wash that more often. I probably should wash my helmet more often and if I did I would probably use my normal Dr. Bronners and cool water or shampoo it in the shower. As far as replacement every 3-5 years works fine for me, I know some people are cheap with safety and want to say it's fine but with use and element and temperature exposure I see no reason to take the risk. Certainly yet is does suck especially when I have found a taste for higher end helmets but I can get a cheap one if need be for $40 and I will be fine. $40 every 5 years isn't a bad deal and even $100+ isn't that bad. You could probably put your spare change in a jar for that amount of time and get yourself a nice Lazer X1 or Giro Synthe (or the new one) or a Kask Protone or whatever every 5 years easy.

My helmet pads are made of foam but covered with some velvet like material. I put them in a pillow case and washed them with my cycling cloths weekly. Hang to dry,

Never clean it but if it starts stinking I put a dryer sheet in the helmet and seal it in a plastic bag for at least 24hrs.

Target and Walmart sell mesh wash bags for delicate clothing and items such as this.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-C...-of-3/45152253

Or you can go to Home Depot and pick up some nylon paint straining bags.

+1 this.

I rinse the pads and straps after every ride and never had a problem with odor, etc.

If there's not enough water left in my water bottle, I just use water from the rain barrel.

Just rinse them with water in place.

If they're really funky, pour some hydrogen peroxide solution on them (watch the fizzing as the peroxide degrades the proteins in your sweat and generates oxygen gas), then rinse thoroughly. That's what I do with my watch band as well.

I wash my helmet pads and gloves in a bowl of warm water with laundry detergent mixed in. Then I rinse them out and maybe wash them a second time, rinse again and lay them out on a towel to dry. The helmet straps get dipped into the detergent/water mix.

Another cap wearing guy, I always wear a clean Pace skull cap (I have half a dozen, I also wear them under warm winter hats). It is impressive how much this saves the helmet pads. Straps are my limiting factor.

When I wash helmets, I fill the bathroom sink with water and a little laundry detergent. Get the whole helmet wet, squeezing soapy water into the pads. Then I flip the helmet over so the straps soak and go do something else. Later I rinse, squeezing more fresh water through the pads and doing a good rinse on the straps. Doesn't take very long.

Edit: Last step is to press the pads with a towel.

Ben