BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I vote for these http://www.clorox.com/products/clorox-disinfecting-wipes/

I vote against that on account of animal testing

When I used to clean shave, my skin would get agitated by helmet strap sweat. (At least I think)

I think my solution was to just take the helmet in with me when I took a shower.

@Pierce, you could always use something more natural like tea-tree oil. I tend to use that as an alternative to aftershave.

The shower idea doesn't sound too bad, shampoo would probably work great; just be sure to dry it thoroughly or you'll start a bacteria farm.

Diluted Simple Green.

Some alkalies in cleaners (many degreasers) damage threads--I see this in automotive upholstery. I say use warm water and a little mild soap.

I agree with Nick.

keep in mind that the chin strap is designed to keep the helmet on in the event of a crash - those loads are pretty minor and the straps are (from the factory) way stronger than they need to be. Unless you're cleaning every use, I'm not sure it matters what you use so long as you rinse it well enough that it doesn't cause skin irritation.

Once you get it clean, maybe there's a way to create a detachable (launderable) pad/cover that might help make it a moot point? I'd be amazed if they weren't available commercially for purchase on amazon.com, but admit to never looking.

If using a cleaner and you damage the threads you are doing something VERY wrong.

don't rock climbers deal with this sort of thing all the time cleaning their ropes and harnesses and such?

can you detach it from the helmet? if so, the laundry machine should do a good job.

dmtroyer - yes, but those ropes/webbings need to withstand extremely high stresses, so rock climbers have all sorts of prohibitions that wouldn't apply to bike helmet straps (like never let it contact cement, change out lead lines every 3 years and static lines every 5 [or more often] no matter how much they've been used, some people even ditch their lead lines every leader fall, so if you're new you're buying new ropes every year or more often). Besides their gear use typically precludes cleaning of gear, sweat doesn't usually land on gear in significant amounts and if urine touches it, unless it's metal it's trash (this happens WAY more often than you'd think). Mud and dirt you need to brush off and ensure structural integrity by very carefully feeling the whole line anyway...

But as with all things, YMMV, that was just my experience.

umm, okay but how do they clean them?

some people even ditch their lead lines every leader fall

Dang, I'd be flat broke.

dmtroyer - I'm sorry, I wasn't clear... if something happened to the gear that warranted some kind of more robust cleaning than brushing off dirt or perhaps a light rinse with clean plain water, we always ditched the gear altogether.

joe - it doesn't have to be expensive, just don't fall (I climbed with extremely conservative folk, but it's all a mental game, just talk to any British gritstone climber, they're wicked steady and always made everyone else look like pansies)

Baby shampoo. Works every time. Just wash them by hand. The advantage there is even if you don't get it all out (I was the pads with it too) it won't sting your eyes.

There is no way in heck I'd use degreaser or anything Clorox based on my skin and/or something that that was next to my skin (esp open pores)

In a fit of pique I used Clorox wipes of some sort to clean under my cast. The burning scared the heck out me.

orionz06, I've seen a lot of wrong come through the store.