Helmet Wash

Show of hands. How many of you wash your helmets after a ride? Thought so. There's a reason why we leave our helmets hanging on the handlebars, away from the table where we eat our mid-ride meal. It's bad enough that our shirts are dripping wet from sweat; we don't need to bring the funk of a helmet that has gone through months of riding without a wash. 'Fess up. There are some of you who have never washed your helmet since buying it. Truth be told, I belong to that group, too. Until this evening.

Recently, while scouring the archives of a brilliant blog, I've discovered the best way to wash your helmet. The text below is a direct lift from the entry Helmet Wash, written by Grizzly Adam of the blog Epic Riding.

You’ve been there: You head out for a ride, you're all set to go, and then you try and buckle your helmet. The straps are crusty and stiff, you have to massage them a bit so they will bend around your face and clasp together. White, salty, sweat stains are prevalent, and for a minute you feel fairly disgusting putting the lid on your head. But, after a few minutes on your opening climb the straps loosen up from the new sweat and the previous crust and gunk is long forgotten. After the ride, the helmet goes back on the garage shelf and the whole process is repeated the next day.

Perhaps you have done this, and then, perhaps not. But the easiest, most effective way to wash a helmet that I have ever seen is to…wait for it…

Shower with it.

It works better than you could imagine. Your chin strap will smell and work like new, and your friends behind you in the pace line will not take extra pulls just to avoid the the funk coming from your head. Here is how it works:

• Shower as you (hopefully) normally do after your ride.
• But bring your helmet with you.
• Lather up your head with your favorite shampoo.
• Put on your helmet, buckle and all.
• Move the helmet back and forth and side to side.
• Make sure to work on the straps some.
• Rinse.
• Remove the helmet and rinse the rest of the shampoo.
• When you are finished, hang the helmet to dry.

That’s it. It takes no extra time in the shower, and brings an old crusty helmet back from the brink. And unless you shower in public, nobody (except maybe your S.O.) will have to see how stupid you look in nothing but a bike helmet.

Washed. Finally. Photo idea from original post.

Now, we all no longer have to bear with funky headgear. Keeps clumsy people safe in the shower, too.

Sometimes the best answer is the simplest one. This is just brilliant.