If you want to know how to clean the helmet to guarantee a perfect view and a brilliant aesthetics you have to perform some rather easy operations. Midges, sweat, dust, pollution and rain are the main elements that ruin the hygiene of the helmet also dangerously affecting visibility, a fundamental aspect for safe driving. Washing the helmet , however, is an operation that must be done with extreme care because poorly washed interiors can shrink making it difficult to wear it. The same polystyrene interior if it gets wet or damp risks causing a deformation of the inner shell, which can make it difficult to fit the helmet. To avoid mistakes, I'll explain how to sanitize the helmet by proceeding according to the following steps:
First you need to clean the helmet shell, first the outer one and then the inner one.
You can use a soft microfiber cloth soaked in neutral soap and warm water to clean the outside of the shell. Rub well on the very dirty parts making sure to remove the most stubborn residues. Avoid using soaps with too acidic or alkaline pH, otherwise you risk "scratching" away the paint making the helmet opaque and aesthetically ugly. To remove the most stubborn dirt you can use special spray products that do not affect the shine of the paint.
Now you can move on to cleaning the outer shell of the helmet, usually covered with polystyrene or polystyrene which, despite being materials resistant to impacts and chemical agents, must be treated with care. In fact, there are several polystyrene compounds that could react differently to contact with aqueous and chemical solutions. Therefore, avoid wetting this part, as if the shell were to increase in volume it could be difficult to wear a helmet. Simply rub the inside with a soft cloth removing dust residues.
There are two types of inner helmet padding:
If the padding of your helmet can be dismantled you have a great advantage because cleaning is more convenient and practical. In fact, you just need to wash it by hand in cold water like any item of clothing. Drying is a phase to which you must pay close attention so as not to compromise the effectiveness of your helmet, which must be dried in a ventilated, dry and shaded place.
If the padding of the helmet is dried in the sun, it risks shrinking and altering the inner sponge. This condition makes it difficult to wear a helmet or otherwise risks compromising its efficiency. In some cases the helmet may become excessively wide, reducing its ability to absorb shocks in the event of a fall. If this happens you can still change the inside of the helmet, increasing protection and avoiding spending too much money on a new helmet. Drying the helmet in a shaded area but without ventilation risks mold and unpleasant odors.
Is the padding of your helmet not removable? In these cases you just need to use sprays with antibacterial properties capable of eliminating all unpleasant odors caused by sweat, dust, rain, etc.
Here we are at another fundamental component of the helmet: the visor.
For a basic cleaning of the visor you can use a simple soft cloth moistened with warm water. This operation allows you to remove most of the dirt.
If you want to know how to clean the visor of the helmet in more depth you must use special products with cleaning and anti-fog properties, so as to safeguard aesthetics and visibility in one move.
A separate discussion deserve some modern visors equipped with an additional internal visor, called pinlock. In principle, the pinlock, which adheres to the outer visor, should not be removed during cleaning. However, if it is excessively dirty, you can remove and clean it separately, making sure during assembly that it is perfectly dry and free of any residual dirt. Otherwise, you risk compromising visibility and scratching the visor.
To conclude, here is a tip on maintenance: when you do not use the helmet do not completely close the outer visor, so you avoid dangerous crushing to the rubber gasket around the visor. The closure is always optimal and able to prevent water infiltration in case of rain.
