Helmets talk a lot about your style. Riding around with a dirty one is up to no one’s liking. But the paint on it being as thin as it is you can’t just start brushing it with a glass cleaner or a floor cleaner. You have got to be careful of the steps you take.
There’s a lot of suggestions as to what you should be rubbing it with and what you should pour on it. It doesn’t cost to be careful. So, stick around and save yourself from buying another helmet.
Helmet Washing Materials
Like any other task, you will have to gather all the required materials in order which are essential to make the cleaning easier. Though people have got their own choices and other alternatives that they prefer more, we are going to inform you about the basic sets of products whose efficiency is quite appreciable.
Microfiber Rags
You will not need a new rag all the time if it’s clean enough. A dirty rag will make things worse as the dirt of the rag will rough the exterior side of the helmet up while cleaning.
Baby Shampoo
Before choosing the cleaning agent, you must ensure that it isn’t petroleum-based. We will suggest you use baby shampoo which is perfect for this task as you don’t have to worry about the aroma.
Brush
You don’t need an expensive or specialized brush for this task. Any regular or ordinary toothbrush with soft bristles will do the work. The brush will clean those parts of the helmet, where the rags can not reach.
Air Compressor
To clean your helmet’s air vents, the air compressor is proved to be effective. Dial the pressure back and some other technical moves will be easy with this air compressor while cleaning.
Hot Water
Using hot water, the dirt in your motorcycle helmet will be loosened up. God knows what and what not clings onto this safety gear yours as air pollutants keep on rising. Especially if you love cruising off-road tracks, the dried-off sticky stuff keeps being stubborn until and unless the warmth of water shows up.
Helmet Washing Machine
Cleaning your motorcycle helmet with a helmet washing machine is faster and easier than the manual one. You can clean your helmet off in just less than 5 minutes without wasting a lot of water. There is 3 part in the washing machines for the helmet which are Washer, Spinner, and Heater respectively.
How To Clean Motorcycle Helmet
There are some certain steps to clean your motorcycle helmet without any complications. Following these easy steps will provide a fresh look to your helmet in no time.
Remove External and Internal Accessories
First of all, you have to remove all the external accessories from the helmet that are attached to the body. After that remove all the interiors like cheek pads or internal liner and keep these aside for later.
Removal of the liner
If the liner of your helmet can not be removed, set a tub or basin in your shower. Fill your tub with hot water, soak the helmet with baby shampoo for a couple of minutes and scrub it for cleaning.
Get The Outer Shell Of The Helmet Ready
Now soak a microfiber rag in warm water and put it over the helmet. The warm water will soften the dust and make the removal easier. While you keep the rag over the helmet for softening, move on to the interior parts of the helmet.
Washing The Interior Parts
The interior parts need more focus than the other portion of the helmet as these to come close to the sweats and hair oil. To clean these cheek pads or liner, you can rely on baby shampoo. After cleaning, you have to air dry these items thoroughly. Otherwise, a wet liner or cheek pad may feel uncomfortable with you while riding.
Washing The Helmet’s Body
Now comes the turn for the helmet body. You have to remove the wet microfiber rag from the helmet and use a new one to wipe the remaining dirt from the surface of the helmet. Try to use hot water and nothing else to get better results. For those parts that the rag can not reach, use a toothbrush to clean them off.
Sometimes, dirt and other components gather in the channel of the helmet and obstruct the airflow. You better use an air compressor to clear the way and get the airflow back in its place.
Cleaning of The Visor or Face Shield
Visor often gets scratches. To ensure proper cleaning you must know How To Remove Scratches From a Motorcycle Helmet Visor? As many of the visor or the face shield has got some sort of protective coating, so use only warm water while cleaning. You can take the help of the wet rags while doing so and don’t forget to check the user manuals or instructions.
How to Dry Motorcycle Helmet
You can depend on air drying in this task. Try to give drying some time for a better outcome and you can use room fan to accelerate the drying speed. Now let all these components of the helmet to dry and then re-assemble all the interior and exterior parts.
How to Clean a Sticky White Helmet
While cleaning any sticky helmets, try to use alcohol or acetone and rub it on the surface. For whitening your helmet, just simply follow the procedure mentioned above and scrub the grime off from the outer shell of your helmet. You can use makeup pads and cleaning/whitening agents too.
After that make a paste of baking soda and water and apply it to the outer surface of the helmet and keep it that way for 10 to 30 minutes. Then wash it off and wipe it clean with the microfiber rags or toilet tissue. There you will have a fresh look on your white helmet.
Helmet Care
There are some certain steps that you have to follow and some steps that you must avoid. Such traits and don’ts are mentioned down below-
Do’s-
- Try to use absolute minimum pressure while cleaning the face shield or visor.
- Use Automotive polish like Honda Polish for the gloss helmet.
- Cotton swabs perform better while cleaning joints and vents
Don’ts-
- Swabbing the shell or the visor to remove stubborn spots.
- Using any ammonia-based cleaning agents or glass cleaner for the face shield or visor as ammonia reacts with polycarbonate lenses.
Preventive Maintenance
- Try to wear a skullcap under the helmet as a first-line defense.
- For gloss helmets, put the automotive wax coating on the shell of your helmet.
- Try not to scrub the face shield.
FAQ
Q: How to remove helmet liner?
Ans: It depends on the design of the helmet. Usually, there’s a snap-on both of the sides of the helmet with the cheek pad. Undo those snaps and remove the cheek pads and other components. Use minimum strength to pull the liner off the helmet.
Q: How to clean HJC Helmet?
Ans: To clean HJC helmets, remove the external and internal components and as HJC recommends machine washing regularly, try to do so. Besides, air drying is always proved to be efficient with these helmets.
Q: How to clean SMK helmets?
Ans: To regain the shine of the SMK helmets, you can use any kind of shampoo as a cleaning agent and try to avoid scrubber cause that can put a scratch on your helmet. Rags will be a better option or you can choose some foam to wash it off.
Conclusion
There are various products and cleaning agents out there on the market for your motorcycle helmet. But the cleaning process is more or less just the same. And try not to use Aerosol can for air compressing, the warranty might get hampered.
Follow the instructions on how to clean a motorcycle helmet and let the warm water and cleaner do their work.
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