smelly helmet

[malkin]

Looking on the bright side, I crash often enough that I haven't had a helmet get stinky.

Lately, I've been wearing a hat anyway and Brewer has taken to wearing a scarf both of which can go in the washer.

I don't think I'll be washing any helmets until they start sporting laundry tags: Hand wash in cool water with mild detergent...

[TrekTheKaty]

Ditto rinsing in the sink--but I also wear a buff underneath my helmet.

[spindizzy]

I just went and sniffed my helmet...I have never washed it..wondering if smelly helmet smells may be wafting to others around me during races... it doesn't smell but i shall give it a regular sniffing ..just to be sure.

[Delta7]

I remove the pads put them in a small laundry sack and wash in the washing machine. The helmet goes in the dishwasher.

[OakLeaf]

I wouldn't put it in the dishwasher. Temperature is too high, even if you air-dry and even if you don't use your dishwasher's onboard water heater.

Both Snell and CPSC standards for bicycle helmets require them to survive temperatures of 50°C (122°F), plus or minus 2° (Snell)/3° (CPSC). Tap water is ordinarily hotter than that.

Even considering the length of a single dishwasher cycle vs. the minimum four hours a helmet has to undergo the heat stress, this is a total risk/benefit analysis FAIL. Benefit: you save ten minutes and your hands stay dry. Risk: catastrophic head injury.

And that's disregarding the potential effect of dishwasher detergent on the EPS. I don't know whether chlorine bleach (or oxygen bleach, if you use a "green" detergent) degrades EPS or not, but it's generally a bad idea to expose a helmet to any harsh chemicals.

[TrekTheKaty]

Thanks, Oakleaf. I was embarrassed to admit I just rinse and don't use soap Now I feel better

[bunny_ninja]

soaking the pads in vinegar might work. It kills nasties, and the odor goes away with rinsing and time

It is how I was my shorts. i pour vinegar on the chamois and run them through the wash with a high efficiency detergent (and the rest of my clothes)