Dirty Helmet Straps

[kelownagirl]

Anyone ever wash your helmet strap??? Mine is so dirty from sweat and dust etc. I'm not sure if I want to try taking it off the helmet though - looks like I might mess up the set up too much. I guess I could just try to wash it while it's on there. Anyone have any suggestions?

[7rider]

After a long, sweaty ride, my helmet straps get white with salt.
I run my helmet under a faucet in the utility sink, rinsing out the straps and pads. Sometimes I'll rub a bit of Woolite in them, usually just running water.
Then I hang it up to drip dry.
Oh, and I don't remove the strap from the helmet. Just wash it, helmet, straps and all.

[margo49]

I would hate to think what a swab would find there!
I would scrub it with a toof-brush dipped in tea- tree soap.
I would not wet the helmet tho', Regina.

[RoadRaven]

Well, I don't jump in the shower with the helmet as some of the gals here do...

But we do rinse the straps reasonably regularly (well, to be honest, when we are prompted by the whiteness or stiffness of the straps )

A small nail brush is useful with getting into the crinkles... (good idea with the toof-brush Margo, probably easier than the nail brush!)

Margo... why not wet the helmet? It gets wet when it rains...
Or do you mean to not wet it with the soapy sudsy washing water?

And yip. Like Regina, hang up in usual place in shed... drip dry...

[margo49]

Margo... why not wet the helmet? It gets wet when it rains...
Or do you mean to not wet it with the soapy sudsy washing water?

.

Superstition.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Gee, and I kinda like the "patina".....

[7rider]

Superstition.

Sort of like whistling on a boat???

[bikerHen]

. . . but at some point the "patina" starts to get a little gross and crusty. bikerHen

[latelatebloomer]

I started washing my straps after I pinned them down as the source of a mysterious sour odor (ewwww.) I was afraid I'd forget how to put them back on as I am mechanically disabled - BUT! I am also a nerd, so I made a little sketch of how they should look. I just use our crunchy-granola type citrus dish detergent. ALSO, for everyone, a trainer warned me to wash the velcroed cushions inside the helmet from time to time - she got caught in a downpour and was temporarily blinded from the accumulated brine washing down into her eyes. (again, ewwwwwwwww, but hey, I think women sweating buckets is a very cool thang.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I started washing my straps after I pinned them down as the source of a mysterious sour odor (ewwww.) I was afraid I'd forget how to put them back on as I am mechanically disabled - BUT! I am also a nerd, so I made a little sketch of how they should look. I just use our crunchy-granola type citrus dish detergent. ALSO, for everyone, a trainer warned me to wash the velcroed cushions inside the helmet from time to time - she got caught in a downpour and was temporarily blinded from the accumulated brine washing down into her eyes. (again, ewwwwwwwww, but hey, I think women sweating buckets is a very cool thang.)

EEEEEEWWWWWWW.........

Hmmmm....so if I cover the vent holes with duct tape and fill the helmet with crunchy-granola and milk and slosh it around a lot like a little washing machine, it'll scour everything in there all nice and clean? (I'd rinse it out afterwards, of course.)

[latelatebloomer]

aw, you know what I meant!

[DirtDiva]

I have to say, I'm exercising quite a large amount of denial on this very matter at present. What were Spesh thinking putting pale grey straps on a mtb helmet? It's a unisex one too, so it's not like their retarded ideas about the colours of gear all women want did it... ('Scuse the bitterness, but there has been more than one item of Specialised gear I have wanted over the last couple of years that has only been available in/with pink - they could at least make it an option.)

Anyway, I did actually have something useful to say. If you use the laundry detergent in tablet form, those little meshy bags are great for washing your helmet pads in.