At times, your helmet becomes dirty after long rides.
A helmet requires care to maintain and clean your headgear. If you do not maintain your headwear properly, it will not survive in durations.
A helmet is the most protective headgear. Not only to protect your head from the crash but to prevent your face and head from covering debris.
To require care and maintenance, we have a systematic guide on how to clean motorcycle helmet correctly. This will help to clean your helmet in the right order so you do not disrupt the manufacturer’s warranty. Maintaining clean headgear allows extending the product’s lifetime. The more you look after your helmet, the longer the lifespan.
If you want your headgear to increase the product’s life cycle, there is a simple guide on how to clean a motorcycle helmet.
To know how to clean motorcycle helmet, you need to prepare certain materials:
⦁ A mild shampoo (Johnson’s’ or Tresemme)
⦁ Warm water
⦁ Cotton buds (optional)
⦁ A toothbrush (optional)
⦁ 3 microfiber rags
⦁ A plastic dish
How to Clean Motorcycle Helmet | Methods of Cleaning
To learn how to clean motorcycle helmet, it is essential to follow the instructions correctly to avoid any harm to your headwear.
1) Remove Each Interior Component
To know how to clean motorcycle helmet is to remove the interior components. This includes the cheek pads, breath guard, inner liner, visor and other internal parts of the helmet. Then put it aside. This will make it easier to clean the helmet.
Note: If your helmet has any technological products, remove them as well. Such products include Bluetooth, camera and other external accessories.
2) Use a Mild Shampoo & Pour it onto the Dish
Use any mild shampoo and pour into a discrete amount onto the plastic dish. Make sure you apply the shampoo according to the amount of residue build onto your helmet. If your helmet has heavily covered in dirt and grime, you double the amount onto the dish. For lighter residues a medium amount is sufficient for cleaning.
3) Fill it with Lukewarm Water Until the Soap and Lather Forms
If your helmet has an extreme buildup of dirt, dust or grime, add a bigger amount and fill in with water until more lather forms. Do not fill the water to such extreme temperatures, as this would weaken the helmet’s protection.
4) Rinse the Helmet to Get Rid of Excessive Dirt, Dust or Insects
For a quicker method, soak the microfiber towel in warm water and drape it over the helmet. Leave it for as long as the debris removes. This helps to soften any residues and allows reducing the effort of the cleaning process. To clean your helmet is to rinse the helmet to get rid of excessive debris.
5) Dip the Helmet & Scrub Out all of the Dirt
Dip the helmet shell into the lather and scrub all of the residues. Keep scrubbing until all of the dirt or dust removes. If your helmet does not have a removable inner liner, wash and gently massage the liner until the interior covers in soap. Make sure you not over scrub the helmet as this will cause the helmet to break the exterior shell. The same goes for the internal components.
Note: For cleaning vent holes or channels, use cotton swabs or a toothbrush, scrape off the dust, and dirt build-up. This will help to provide a cleaner and greater airflow.
6) Rinse the Helmet thoroughly Until the Shampoo Disappears
For cleaning the internal components, wash the plastic dish and drain out the contaminated water. Add a mild shampoo and fill it with water until lather forms. This helps to clean the next components easier without cleaning with contaminated water!
7) Repeat the Same Process with the Internal Components
Dump the interior components, then scrub and wash each component until it covers in soap. Rinse the interior components thoroughly. Wipe the helmet’s shell; leave the helmet and the interiors components in the direct sunlight to dry.
8) Wipe the Visor with a Microfiber Towel
For how to clean motorcycle helmet visor, clean the visor or face shield with warm water and wipe it off with a fresh microfiber towel. If your helmet has pin lock shields, remove the inner lens from the outer face shields and clean both sides of each piece. Use water to clean and let them dry overnight.
Note: If your helmet has an internal sun shield, clean the same process with water and a microfiber rag. Be careful not to damage the inner lens gasket, as is it the integral part of the pin lock system to work correctly when assembling.
9) Reassemble All of the Parts Together
After all of the components are dry, reassemble all of the parts together. Your helmet is clean and ready to hit the road!
Tips and Advice for How to Clean a Helmet:
To ensure a safe cleaning process, each rider should follow these instructions when it comes to how to clean motorcycle helmet. The following tips mentioned below:
- When it comes to the drying process, you can use a room fan if drying in the sunlight is inconvenient. If you live in those areas, where there are a few sun rays. Dry in the cool room with the air dry if desired.
- Never, use a dryer to dry your helmet and the internal components as this disrupts the manufacturer’s warranty.
- If you want your visor hinge to move properly, you can apply a silicone-based lubricant to lubricate the moving parts of the helmet.
- Wear a skullcap or a bandanna to protect your liner from sweat and body oils between washings. This helps to handle the washings easier without any tedious procedures.
- Do not scrub the visor or the helmet vigorously as this would break the headwear and would cause scratches to the visor.
- Never use fabric conditioner or soap with fabric softener to clean your inner liner as this would prevent the moisture-wicking liner from working. Fabric conditioners contain strong chemicals that will cause the inner liner from wicking off the moisture.
- Never use dryer sheets for scenting your helmet as it causes allergic reactions to some people. Dryer sheets contain harsh chemicals.
- If you are in a hurry to clean your helmet, you can use any cleaning sprays that are non-petroleum liquids. There are good examples of using cleaning products that specify to clean your helmet. Such products are Motul M1 Helmet and Visor Clean and Motul M2 Helmet Interior Clean.
- Never use glass cleaner and any ammonia-based products on the visor as ammonia breaks down polycarbonate lenses that weaken the visor over time.
- Never, use any harsh chemicals such as dishwashing liquid for your helmet and liner as it weakens the helmet’s ability for head protection.
- Do make sure you plan your washing process before you ride. This will reduce the burden of washing your helmet just before you get onto your bike. Do gather the cleaning materials before you begin washing.
Wrap Up
Here are the useful guides on how to clean motorcycle helmet. You can see cleaning a motorcycle helmet is an easy process, which all you have to do is follow the instructions carefully and your helmet will be as good as new. Your cleaned helmet will extend the product’s lifetime.
If you maintain a well-hygiene headwear, you will gain the advantage of taking care to avoid the buildup of residues. If you are anxious about the sweat and oil building up in the liners and on your head, wear a bandanna to protect the helmet from grease and flakes. When going for a ride, make sure you take the microfiber towel with you to clean the helmet with a few splashes of water.
If you have not cleaned your helmet, now is the time!
So grab some cleaning materials and start scrubbing off the dirt!
Read Our Other Articles:
What to do After a Motorcycle Accident