You’re out on the roads, zooming around on your trusty motorcycle and enjoying the breeze rushing past you. You might be wearing a helmet. A helmet is necessary for every motorcycle owner out there, as riding a motorcycle can be very dangerous.
This article will teach you how to clean a motorcycle helmet. Motorcycle helmets are usually designed to be very thick. They have padding on the inside to protect your head from injury. This is in case you fall from your bike.
Oftentimes when you’re out on the streets, you might find your helmet getting dirty. This could be with dust or with bird droppings, or your sweat can cause the inside of your helmet to smell off. If any of that has happened to you, you’ve come to the right place!
This article will teach you how to wash the inner parts and outside of your helmet. You’ll be able to give it a shine bright enough to reflect the sun. Your motorcycle helmet is there to protect you, so it is essential to look after it diligently as well.
Different cleaning methods for a bike helmet
There are different cleaning methods for different parts of a motorcycle helmet. This means that what works on one part of the helmet may not work on another part of your helmet.
Wrongful use of cleaning methods can also lead to it getting even dirtier. There are also different methods to clean more obstinate stains or spills on your helmet, which we will cover as we progress.
How to clean the shell of your motorcycle helmet?
This is normally the easiest part of washing your helmet! Usually, all you would need to clean the top of your helmet, whether it’s a full-face helmet or modular helmet, is a damp cloth and mild soap. To start, you must detach your helmet’s visor from the shell to avoid it getting in the way of thoroughly cleaning the surface.
Then, grab a bucket of water and mix in a little bit of soap and stir well. By doing so, you can dip your washcloth into the water and coat it with soap and keep it wet enough to clean your helmet.
Strain the excess water from the washcloth and start rubbing it over the top of your helmet until it is polished and clean. Once it is clean, spray it with some polish, and it’ll be shiny enough to reflect your image.
How to clean sticky residue or stronger stains?
If you’ve got something powerful and stubborn staining your helmet, no worries, just grab a small towel and wet it with a water-soap solution. Press it over the stain and keep it compressed for a few minutes.
It allows the material to soften off the surface of your helmet. Then, you can just wipe it off with the towel and clean the excess stain off with a dry cloth; your helmet’s top will be good to go!
Nevertheless, if you feel that your helmet stains can’t be put off with cleaning, you can think about painting your motorcycle helmet.
How to clean the visor of your motorcycle helmet?
You must be very careful and considerate of this part, as the face shield of a helmet can get scratched very easily. Sponges are not recommended for this, but rather a dry microfiber washcloth can do wonders.
As for the cleaning agent, your best bet is to use ammonia-free Windex to make your visor squeaky clean. Ammonia is said to reduce the quality of the visor, and most manufacturers warn against using it to clean a visor.
Simply spray the Windex over your visor and wipe it clean with a dry cloth. If your face shield has an anti-fog coating over it, which reduces fogging, any harsh solutions may lead to deterioration.
In such cases, some warm water will do the trick with no setbacks. Make sure to dry any residual Windex or water with another clean microfiber cloth.
How to clean bike helmet pads?
The last part of your helmet clean-up would be to wash the interior of your helmet. Usually, this is cleaned once a week during hot weather to avoid the manifestation of bacteria and other such germs we wouldn’t want near our eyes and ears.
These days, most motorcycle helmets for hot weather come with liners that you can simply remove with a sharp tug of your hand. Once you separate the liners from the helmet’s shell, the only thing left to do is grab a basin of warm water mixed with mild soap and soak the padding in it.
Make sure to pinch out any excess dirt. After that, just rinse your pads with water and place them on a dry towel for air drying.
In case of unremovable padding
If your helmet is a bit old-school and the inner helmet pads cannot be removed, there’s no need to worry. They can still be cleaned! Just like you would if they were detachable, just dunk the whole helmet (without the visor) into a basin of lukewarm water with mild soap.
Gently scrub out excess dirt and grime and rinse it with clean water; afterward, you must let it air dry under a fan for as long as required.
Alternative method
When you’re in a hurry, an alternative method is to place all the liners in a washing bag. Wash it in the washing machine on a gentle cycle with no soap. This will still get the excess dirt out and will wring your padding free of any germs.
Make sure never to dry your helmet padding in the dryer. It can lead to shrinkage, making the entire helmet useless. Air drying is always the best option; placing it in front of a fan can help speed up the process.
Conclusion
If all goes well, after following our procedure, afterward, you can reattach your padding and visor to the shell. You can make your helmet whole again, squeaky clean, and ready to protect you once more.
With any luck, you will be smoothly riding down the street with a sparkling clean helmet in no time. Many riders have motorcycle helmets on a budget, so they need to keep them clean for long-term use. Hopefully, this article has taught you how to clean your motorcycle helmet.
