PVRRip

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to clean the (non-removable) straps on a bike helmet?

Gorrister

Water and dish soap interspersed with sprayings of disinfectant

sdmc530

I have the removable pads and straps in my helmet and still don't remove to wash. I just use warm water and wash the whole thing at once every now and then. A mild soap and rinse well and hang dry. I am too lazy to remove all the Velcro pads and wash.

I have even been tempted to put my helmet in the dishwasher on a quick wash with not hottest water setting just to see if it would work.

ramzilla

Laundry detergent. Big bucket or utility sink. Make a soapy mix & dunk entire helmet in there & let it soak. Rinse. Dry. Wear.

canklecat

I usually hand wash my shorts and jerseys, so I'll dip the helmet straps in the same water with detergent (usually Tide or Gain), let it soak awhile resting atop a bucket, wipe with a sponge and rinse under the faucet. I do the straps pretty much after every ride in summer. In winter I might not sweat enough for the straps to need cleaning after every ride, so I might just wipe them with a damp sponge and plain water.

I'll also wipe the helmet inside and out with a damp sponge. How often depends on the the weather and how often I use the helmet since I rotate helmets. At least once a week.

And I air dry the shorts and jerseys with a circulating fan, so I'll hang the helmet nearby to dry.

Both my Bell and POC helmets seem to have very durable liners/pads, so they could probably be immersed in the bucket of clothes washing detergent. I just haven't tried that. The rest is just EPS foam, polycarbonate shell and nylon straps. I doubt cool water would do any harm. Hot water might cause the polycarbonate shell to delaminate from the EPS foam, but it would need to be hotter than a typical sunny summer day since good helmets routinely withstand that kind of natural abuse.

AndreyT

Um... The immediately obvious approach is to hand wash it under a stream of water with a bit of soap. Always worked fine for me. Have you tried it?

indyfabz

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...et-straps.html

Princess_Allez

Baby shampoo and a damp sponge does wonders for helmet straps; some woolite, and a delicates bag, takes care of the inner liner.

indyfabz

IKR. I sweat a lot. My helmet straps often get crusted with salt, yet I have never known this to be an issue, even when I spent nearly four months on the road crossing the country and then some in all sorts of weather, including two consecutive weeks with temps in the 90s and 100s.

imakecircles

Here's my extremely lazy way to do it.

Bring helmet into shower post ride.

Shampoo head/hair.

Put helmet on and wiggle it on shampooed noggin, get shampoo on straps and rub with fingers.

Take helmet off and rinse head and helmet separately.

Enjoy a post ride beer or coffee (optional).

2cam16

I just wipe down my straps with some baby wipes.

Sy Reene

I think I'm gonna try the dishwasher (top rack).. but hit the button that turns off the high heat drying. Not sure what that could do to any glues or laminates used.

August West

After every ride I rinse off completely my helmet, Headsweats & heart rate strap in my garage utility sink and hang them up to dry in the garage. Just use water but am religious about doing it after every ride and don't have any issues with odor or salt build-up. Usually throw the Headsweats in the washer whenever I do a load of laundry.

MikeyMK

Given how much it rains in England I doubt it's an issue here.

79pmooney

I wear Pace or Halo skull caps and rinse them in the shower. Toss them into my delicate cycle wash and hang dry. This means I don't need to wash the helmet very often. When I do, I just partially fill my bathroom sink with hot water and laundry soap. Start with the helmet upside down and work my fingers over the pads. Flip it and let the straps soak a few hours to overnight. Work the straps with my fingers. Drain sink and refill. Repeat process except much shorter wait. Press water out of pads, dry straps with a towel, hang to dry. Writing this is more work than the cleaning.

Ben

Reynolds 

I wash them with a hand brush, warm water and white bar soap.