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Is my helmet ruined because I soaked it overnight?

Hey, kitty peed on helmet so I soaked it in bleach water overnight. Someone told me that it's compromised now. Any thoughts? It's this model Bern helmet:



spakbros
2010-10-20 22:54:43

bleach could weaken the plastic & foam, yeah... they recommend mild soaps only for helmets


noah-mustion
2010-10-20 23:08:54

What was the concentration of the solution?


Dan W. can probably offer some good info.


Next time I would probably take the liner out and have it steam cleaned, and just wash the hard foam off with soap and water.


ndromb
2010-10-20 23:11:16

I'm not that kind of chemist, and I don't know what polymers your helmet is made of, but bleach is an excellent oxidizer and probably oxidized the crap out of your helmet foam - in my expert scientific opinion. The foam in those hard sided helmets might be more resilient than the normal bike helmets though, but I have absolutely nothing to back up that guess.


It is pretty common advice for other sports that bleach will damage the foam padding in your gear. Unfortunately, I don't have any peer reviewed sources to cite for you.


dwillen
2010-10-20 23:34:01

Sorry for calling you out.


ndromb
2010-10-21 00:35:00

I used about a cap-full of bleach to about 4 gallons of water so it wasn't a crazy amount. From what I've heard from a knowledgeable source, those Bern helmets are designed for multiple impacts so I'd guess they use a different foam?


I probably ruined it. Drats


Thx guys


spakbros
2010-10-21 00:41:05

Sorry for calling you out.


Haha, no you didn't. I probably should know. If I knew what the thing was made of I could give you a better guess, but nobody tells consumers that sort of proprietary info.


My extended family asks me about the medications they're taking at the big family Christmas party. I guess they're chemicals, so the chemist should know everything about them, right?


spak, is that one of the helmets with the squishy foam inside? does it still squish? I'd be less worried about the the hard shell part.


dwillen
2010-10-21 02:45:05

It's still more protection than going bare-headed.


lyle
2010-10-21 03:56:00

Throw helmet on ground hard. If it shatters, it's no good, if it doesn't, it's probably good enough :-)


paulheckbert
2010-10-21 05:08:26

Where exactly was this helmet when kitty peed on it? If it was hanging off your bars then you definitely have problems... as if cats that piss on your stuff no matter where it is isn't a problem.


quizbot
2010-10-21 05:31:25

I have a very old, very cranky cat who occasionaly expresses his perpetual extreme disgust with life in a similar manner.


Next time, use an enzymatic cleaner... My favorite is sold at the Cat Clinic on Liberty (they'll sell it to you even if you don't take your cat in, it's the one in a black bottle). It's more effective at getting rid of the smell, and probably will do less of a number on the object of feline disgust.


Hell hath no fury like a full bladdered feline ignored.


ejwme
2010-10-21 13:10:16

"From what I've heard from a knowledgeable source, those Bern helmets are designed for multiple impacts so I'd guess they use a different foam?"


There are different foam liners available for Bern shells, some are single impact EPS foam (bike helmets) others are multiple-impact brock squishy foam (hardhats). If you got it at a bike shop, it is most likely EPS.


bradq
2010-10-21 14:07:42

haha. cats are such jerks. cat piss head.


erok
2010-10-21 15:10:47

I think your cat was just jealous. After all, you made his helmet out of a melon:




dwillen
2010-10-21 15:28:26

I try to eliminate as many variables as possible when protecting my melon. Luckily, I'm allergic to cats.


morningsider
2010-10-21 15:31:52

@brad, unless he got it at thick. chris loves the multi-impact so he stocks it regularly.


cburch
2010-10-21 15:40:52

So far this hasn't happened, but as I have an elderly cat who, whether by accident or design, has taken it upon herself to increase the number of LEAs in the house (litterbox-equivalent areas), my plan is to just immerse the helmet in a bucket of plain water overnight and let osmosis do its thing, maybe change the water every couple of hours.


What would be the likelihood of damage from such a soaking, assuming none from the cat?


stuinmccandless
2010-10-21 16:02:11

Natures Miracle does a good job on the odor. Might contain alcohol, though.


pseudacris
2010-10-21 16:15:41

Murphy's oil soap seems to do an OK job at eliminating cat urine odors.


Had it been my wicked cat, your helmet would have turned to oderiferous goo immediately on contact with the bodily fluids.


mick
2010-10-21 16:20:25

Got the helmet at REI and it feels pretty hard to me. For the record, kitty is usually really neat with the litterbox. The problem was that it needed changed and she waited for me to walk by and made a point of letting some rip before I could stop her. Smart ass cats. Last time it was my hockey gloves


spakbros
2010-10-21 16:31:18

stu - urine is acidic, and that'll hurt equipment. Unless you catch it immediately and use something like Nature's Miracle (or the stuff in the black bottle from Cat Clinic), I'd put it in the "decorative or theater prop" box rather than useful box. But I'm conservative about equipment.


Osmosis won't take care of the gut turning stench, either.


I lost a climbing partner because aforementioned feline protested on his favorite static line, rendering it totally useless. Lost as in I was no longer invited to climb with (despite replacing the line with a sweet static AND he "borrowed" a lead line I never got back), not lost as in dropped down a cliff.


btw - if LEA increasing is a perpetual problem, and not an illness or injury related, medicating the cat (paxil, vallium, or other anti-anxiety) will often do the trick. sometimes it's a temporary thing, sometimes it's permanent.


ejwme
2010-10-21 16:34:10

Find an inconspicuous spot on the foam and put just a drop of undiluted bleach on, and leave it overnight. If that spot doesn't change or get soft, then the diluted mixture probably didn't do anything either. If it's EPS (the hard foam), it's very sensitive to solvents and heat, but I don't think most plastics oxidize.


edmonds59
2010-10-21 16:41:45

wait- is your cat named "kitty"?


erok
2010-10-22 19:21:10

According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, bicycle helmets are to contain labels that carry language about the effects of common household chemicals (including bleach). I realize that if your helmet still had the label, you wouldn't have asked this question. However, you might be able to find the same model helmet at a local retailer that DOES have the label. By reading THAT label, you'd know if your own helmet is still effective.


swalfoort
2010-10-22 19:40:20

good call swalfoot

wait wtf? swalfoort


Erok: Cats name is Penguin (after the bird not the hockey)


spakbros
2010-10-23 20:21:36

My cat's name is "Big Kitty." My other cat used to be "Little Kitty," but we named her Steve instead.


rubberfactory
2010-10-24 11:04:20

My cat's name is Kitty. That's like having the combination to my luggage as 1.2.3.4


erok
2010-10-25 15:39:13

Related question - how old can a helmet get before it is believed to be ineffective due to age?


mick
2010-10-25 16:22:32

You could call the manufacturer and ask them. They might default to "replace it" but they might be able to tell you what the materials are and whether they're very susceptible to an oxidizer.


Bleach is a bad idea because it can damage a lot of stuff, but I also wouldn't assume that the enzyme cleaners or Murphy's Oil Soap are OK.


erink
2010-10-28 02:28:54

i left my bern helmet at the river the other night. when i went back to get it, it had about 5-6 bb holes in it. you think it's still ok?


erok
2010-10-28 14:10:28

wow. that's a pretty trashy method of vandalism. you leave it at the button?


noah-mustion
2010-10-28 14:20:50

Hmmm, depends. Were the holes drilled, chewed or otherwise created?


swalfoort
2010-10-28 14:30:16

BB holes are probably no worse than bleach.


lyle
2010-10-28 15:42:14

Impacted (crashed) helmets are supposed to be replaced because crushed/cracked eps foam is less to no good at reducing future impacts. BBs fired, at point blank range, into your helmet might have similarly damaged the eps. But that's just speculation on my part.


jeffinpgh
2010-10-28 15:47:00

Did the bb's penetrate the shell and foam?


edmonds59
2010-10-28 15:54:46

wanna go helmet shopping with me erok?


spakbros
2010-10-28 16:44:35

Is bike helmet shopping by men anything like shoe shopping with women?


swalfoort
2010-10-28 16:55:46

you leave it at the button?

yep.


yeah, the BBs went right through - pretty clean holes. i went from amazed that my helmet was where i left it 4 days ago, then went to shock that there were tiny holes all over it.


erok
2010-10-28 19:00:39

spak, for what it's worth, rei-outlet has bern helmets w/ the winter kit on close-out right now.


erok
2010-10-28 19:02:11

BBs or 22s?

Must be a pretty crappy shot, to aim at something as big as a helmet. Most kids use tin cans.


Unless... ...nah, perish the thought. Too close to Halloween.


stuinmccandless
2010-10-28 20:04:51

i was going to say - they were probably .22 bullets. cody says he sees .22 shells down there all the time. i doubt BBs would penetrate a helmet.


noah-mustion
2010-10-28 22:13:16

.22 may be small caliber but it's still going to leave a pretty big hole don't you think? Five or six shots with a .22 is going to pretty much trash Eroks helmet.


jeffinpgh
2010-10-29 11:49:06

C02 pistol? 0.177, iirc.


lyle
2010-10-29 13:35:51

i'll take a photo of it later and post it. then ya'll can csi it


erok
2010-10-29 14:08:41

Could you re-purpose it as a collander?


atleastmykidsloveme
2010-10-29 14:10:01

Natures Miracle does a good job on the odor. Might contain alcohol, though.


Troof--on both points. I use Nature's Miracle Advanced Just for Cats (avail at Target and pet food stores). Ingredients: Water, Bio-enzymatic Odor-Lock, Oxygen boosters, Surfactant, Isopropyl Alcohol, Fragrance.


Mebbe not so good for your dome bukkit, but good for your floors and other materials.


kxm
2010-11-01 01:01:13

Helmet cleaning. My helmet is 3 years old. The straps are... not pretty.


Even soaking it in water overnight would help. Would that damage the foam? Would simple soap, like organic dishwashing soap hurt it? How about very hot water?


mick
2010-11-02 15:11:59

warm water and a nylon scrub brush should get it clean without compromising it.


cburch
2010-11-04 14:42:20