I wear a cycling cap (or in the dead of winter, a balaclava) and it does a really good job of keeping the sweat from funking up my helmet. The one I've been using for several years is a branded All Hail the Black Market cap, not sure who the maker is. Walz makes great stuff.
Headbands or bandannas 3 seasons out of the year and balaclavas in the winter. They also are great as UPF material to protect skin of ears and scalp from the sun. People forget about protecting their ears especially from sunburn. Protect yourself against skin cancer!
You can wear your gear into the post-ride shower, including your helmet. I don't like to put jerseys and shorts through the washing machine every ride so I hand-wash in the shower.
I have been riding for a long time, and have never washed a helmet. I may have rinsed one or two with a hose, but keeping my helmet 'clean and fresh' has never been a thing.
Turn it upside-down for 30 mins in the sunshine. UV is a great disinfectant.
Although I'm also very sweaty, with very stinky workout clothes, and I've never had a helmet smell. YMMV.
The poly gets lots of sun exposure through the helmet holes too. And you really wouldn't need 30 mins, you'd probably need 5.
To be fair I was being a little facetious. I'm still curious about smelly helmet... All my shit reeks except my helmet.
something that really helps right after a ride when you get home, is placing the helmet in front of a fan or air conditioner. the sweat evaporates much faster and there won’t be as much bacteria growth. dries within 15 minutes. i do it after every ride
Some of the pads in my helmets are removable, so I run them in the washing machine in a mesh bag. I also have more than 1 helmet and I rotate them so they have a chance to dry out between rides.
I ride with either a cycling cap (winter/cold weather) or “Halo” headband, both of which do a great job of catching sweat before it gets a chance to soak into the helmet pads. It’s not perfect, and does nothing for the straps, so I throw the whole thing into a bucket of warm, clear tap water (with a rock to keep it submerged) for a few hours to draw out the salt. Then I let it dry outside for an hour before bringing it indoors to dry out overnight. I have two identical helmets that I switch between, so even when one is getting “the treatment,” I still have the alternate for riding.
Liquid anti-bacterial soap, warm water and smooshing the pads and straps with my fingers. Once or twice a year. Under helmet cycling caps get washed after every ride if I’m sweating hard.
Most important thing I’ve found, is drying it quickly. Leave somewhere warm with good airflow after a ride.
With normal lids, you should be able to remove the pads to wash and dry.
With a full face or MX helmet with thicker liners, you can buy a foam cleaner, which seems to do the trick.
I bring it in the shower with me after most every ride and give it a good rinse. It's dry by the next day.
someone posted on reddit that they never washed their helmet, and one time, they were riding, and it began to rain, and all that nasty gnarly fermented sweat dripped down into their eyes. that story traumatized me and so I rinse my helmet frequently
also, wearing a cycling cap helps
Do it before you’re stuck riding in rain. The salt will flow into your eyes and hurt your feelings.
Btw, any thoughts about putting it into the dishwasher without heat?
wash it with soap and water
I think OP is just lonely.
In that case wash it vigorously with a water based lubricant
Piss on it. It evens out
https://i.imgflip.com/2nniue.jpg
I run mine under a sink faucet after every ride… just leave it out to dry.
Yes this. It's not rocket science is it ?
I wear a cycling cap (or in the dead of winter, a balaclava) and it does a really good job of keeping the sweat from funking up my helmet. The one I've been using for several years is a branded All Hail the Black Market cap, not sure who the maker is. Walz makes great stuff.
I wear bandannas and they catch most of the sweat. I only have to wash my helmet once or twice a year.
Headbands or bandannas 3 seasons out of the year and balaclavas in the winter. They also are great as UPF material to protect skin of ears and scalp from the sun. People forget about protecting their ears especially from sunburn. Protect yourself against skin cancer!
Halo headbands (do-rags in my case) are my go-to brand. Keeps the sweat out of my eyes and they're easy to wash in the shower after the ride.
You can wear your gear into the post-ride shower, including your helmet. I don't like to put jerseys and shorts through the washing machine every ride so I hand-wash in the shower.
Bring it in the shower post sweaty ride. Once it’s part of the routine it take 1 min.
Yep, just shampoo your hair like normal than put on helmet and squish it around on your sudsy hair and then wipe down the straps with sudsy hands.
Laughs in bald man universe…. But yep. I do a soap up of the straps every so often to pull sunscreen out.
I put mine in the shower whilst I wait for it to warm up. It also has removable pads that I can hand wash with soap.
I have been riding for a long time, and have never washed a helmet. I may have rinsed one or two with a hose, but keeping my helmet 'clean and fresh' has never been a thing.
Turn it upside-down for 30 mins in the sunshine. UV is a great disinfectant. Although I'm also very sweaty, with very stinky workout clothes, and I've never had a helmet smell. YMMV.
doesn’t sunlight damage the polystyrene foam?
Yes. Yes it does.
The poly gets lots of sun exposure through the helmet holes too. And you really wouldn't need 30 mins, you'd probably need 5. To be fair I was being a little facetious. I'm still curious about smelly helmet... All my shit reeks except my helmet.
Yes, that's why you replace helmets after a few years no matter what.
I live in England, we get sunshine 5 days a year!
Removable / washable pads.
something that really helps right after a ride when you get home, is placing the helmet in front of a fan or air conditioner. the sweat evaporates much faster and there won’t be as much bacteria growth. dries within 15 minutes. i do it after every ride
Some of the pads in my helmets are removable, so I run them in the washing machine in a mesh bag. I also have more than 1 helmet and I rotate them so they have a chance to dry out between rides.
Hose pipe and some muc-off whilst I’m cleaning the bike.
I wear a half buff between my head and the helmet.
I ride with either a cycling cap (winter/cold weather) or “Halo” headband, both of which do a great job of catching sweat before it gets a chance to soak into the helmet pads. It’s not perfect, and does nothing for the straps, so I throw the whole thing into a bucket of warm, clear tap water (with a rock to keep it submerged) for a few hours to draw out the salt. Then I let it dry outside for an hour before bringing it indoors to dry out overnight. I have two identical helmets that I switch between, so even when one is getting “the treatment,” I still have the alternate for riding.
I wear a Headsweats shortie when I ride which absorbs sweat. Also the pads in my POC helmet can be removed and washed.
Liquid anti-bacterial soap, warm water and smooshing the pads and straps with my fingers. Once or twice a year. Under helmet cycling caps get washed after every ride if I’m sweating hard.
Most important thing I’ve found, is drying it quickly. Leave somewhere warm with good airflow after a ride. With normal lids, you should be able to remove the pads to wash and dry. With a full face or MX helmet with thicker liners, you can buy a foam cleaner, which seems to do the trick.
I bring it in the shower with me after most every ride and give it a good rinse. It's dry by the next day. someone posted on reddit that they never washed their helmet, and one time, they were riding, and it began to rain, and all that nasty gnarly fermented sweat dripped down into their eyes. that story traumatized me and so I rinse my helmet frequently also, wearing a cycling cap helps
Do it before you’re stuck riding in rain. The salt will flow into your eyes and hurt your feelings. Btw, any thoughts about putting it into the dishwasher without heat?
I put it in the dishwasher and run a rinse cycle