jasonbw
19-05-2009, 10:59 AM
You might be in the same boat here... had a few trackdays recently... accidentally left the helmet in the helmet bag for a week, open it up and ... woah.. bad enough to knock out a skunk.
By the way... Arai recommends your helmet only be in the helmet bag during transportation... once the helmet is no longer in use they recommend leaving it up on a shelf with the visor up for air circulation... otherwise the nice wet warm spongy environment is perfect for bacteria.
The instructions from Arai were to sponge the liner with mild soapy mix, until the liner is clean... well I've had my helmet soaked before when riding in the pissing down rain.. completely... so I took the same approach and put the helmet upside down in the sink (tea towel under it to protect from scratches) and ran a slow, steady stream of warm water mixed with a very small amount of laundry detergent... (very small).. maybe a fabric softner would be better... you don't want to damage the foam!
Sponging the sides with the water dripping down into the helmet gave it a REALLY good clean, REALLY good! the water naturally flowed straight out of the helmet via the top air vent (which was now on the bottom).
Like I've said, I've used my helmet in all weather conditions, I've had it absolutely soaking wet, through and through, but I hate how it takes days to dry out... well I've found a nice (seemingly helmet safe - make your own mind up about that) way to dry it.
The trick was to find an environment where the humidity was low and temp not too high... gentle breeze helps, no sunlight.... perfect place was in the computer room where I work. Some of these kick arse air con units suck air in through filters at the top... after the helmet dripped itself clear of dripping water overnight I put the helmet on top of the AC unit and after a few hours it was totally dry. (I left the visor off for better circulation).
The liner is beaut, 100% perfectly clean and smells like new, job done.... maybe it's time for you to clean yours? You don't have to use the same 'soaking wet' method but even just a sponging of the liner is a good idea to do occasionally.
By the way... Arai recommends your helmet only be in the helmet bag during transportation... once the helmet is no longer in use they recommend leaving it up on a shelf with the visor up for air circulation... otherwise the nice wet warm spongy environment is perfect for bacteria.
The instructions from Arai were to sponge the liner with mild soapy mix, until the liner is clean... well I've had my helmet soaked before when riding in the pissing down rain.. completely... so I took the same approach and put the helmet upside down in the sink (tea towel under it to protect from scratches) and ran a slow, steady stream of warm water mixed with a very small amount of laundry detergent... (very small).. maybe a fabric softner would be better... you don't want to damage the foam!
Sponging the sides with the water dripping down into the helmet gave it a REALLY good clean, REALLY good! the water naturally flowed straight out of the helmet via the top air vent (which was now on the bottom).
Like I've said, I've used my helmet in all weather conditions, I've had it absolutely soaking wet, through and through, but I hate how it takes days to dry out... well I've found a nice (seemingly helmet safe - make your own mind up about that) way to dry it.
The trick was to find an environment where the humidity was low and temp not too high... gentle breeze helps, no sunlight.... perfect place was in the computer room where I work. Some of these kick arse air con units suck air in through filters at the top... after the helmet dripped itself clear of dripping water overnight I put the helmet on top of the AC unit and after a few hours it was totally dry. (I left the visor off for better circulation).
The liner is beaut, 100% perfectly clean and smells like new, job done.... maybe it's time for you to clean yours? You don't have to use the same 'soaking wet' method but even just a sponging of the liner is a good idea to do occasionally.