If you are a racer, you have one. If you have one, you spent a lot of money for it. If you spent a lot of money for it, you should take good care of it. If you take good care of it, it should take good care of you.

Few safety items, if any, will cost you as much as your helmet so why would you neglect it? Every reputable manufacturer provides general guidelines to their customers that relate to good practices when it comes to keeping your equipment in working order and maintaining a good appearance. Most manufacturers will even provide guidance relating to painting their helmets in custom solid colors or designs. There are even a few that will point you to helmet painters that are sure to deliver high quality results.

So let’s begin with some very basic care of the helmet. How about a balaclava? Commonly called a “head sock”, a balaclava isn’t even part of your helmet but it will do two things for your helmet aside from affording you increased protection should there be a situation where you find yourself in a fire. By wearing a ‘head sock’ you will have a layer of material, like a sock on your foot inside your shoe, that will soak up a certain amount of perspiration that would otherwise soak into the inner lining and padding of your helmet. That friends is the origin of funky-smelling helmets. A ‘head sock’ will also take the punishment of a gentleman’s whiskers that can and do quickly erode the fabric liner of the cheek pads and sometimes the chin guard. In my humble opinion, it also makes the tight chin strap more tolerable. They’re cheap too. Get one.

Next, what to do about that perspiration that the head sock doesn’t wick away. Dry out your helmet as soon as you can, after the race. Place it in a shaded area and use a fan if possible. There are several makers of “helmet dryers” and they are money well spent if you race a lot. The moisture that soaks into the padding, if allowed to sit, will grow bacteria and mold/mildew which is what makes the helmet ‘sour’. Think about the sheer delight of putting on a helmet that smells like an old gym bag full of sweaty clothes that sat in your car trunk for a week. That wouldn’t distract you during the race now, would it? Dry the helmet!!

How about hardware care such as helmet mounting, pivots and detents? How about that HANS attaching hardware? There is no excuse for not taking a few minutes, literally, to inspect and care for the helmet hardware. First check to make sure everything is snug. Don’t over-tighten as you can strip threads or even fracture the helmet if you really get carried away. Make sure there are no dings or metal burrs on the hardware and clean away any foreign material that might be on or in the hardware. If you do use a head and neck restraint, take additional care to make sure the attachment points function properly (latches, springs and releases) and look over the straps and/or tethers to verify that they are in good condition. This is important stuff. You don’t just go shoving your head into places without knowing you should be safe, do you? Well then, don’t shove your head into your helmet before a race unless you are confident you’ve done your part to take care of your own safety equipment.

Enough preaching about the ultra-simple maintenance of a helmet. Let’s move on to appearance. Clean on the outside is very important just like clean on the inside is. Rule #1 – follow the manufacturer’s care instructions. There are solvents that can and will damage your helmet and contribute to the padding and seals or edge strips falling off.

Additionally, solvents will soak into and typically ruin your shield. Use of plastic cleaner will typically suffice for the outer shell to remove dirt. To wax the outer shell, nearly every manufacturer recommends helmet wax and care must be taken not to over-do it and mess up the gloss or custom paint job. NOTE: If you have one of the newer “matte black” or rubberized coating helmets you DO NOT want to use typical waxes on this; The same applies to carbon-fiber helmets…refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Shields: DO NOT use acidic or alkali-based glass cleaners! These are not suitable for your shield.

It's recommended that you use products designed for this purpose, such as those from the company 'Molecule'. If you don't have those available, use water, a very soft cloth and gentle pressure. If you use an anti-fog shield, the chemicals on the inner surface will wear off over time and will need to be re-applied. Many of the new exotic ‘mirror-finish’ shields are very susceptible to scratching or staining. Remove dirt or oils as soon as possible; Don’t allow material to sit on these mirror finishes. Protect your shield (if your application warrants their use) with tear-offs. These come in different form-factors and are simply thin, transparent layers of a plastic material that can be peeled or rolled off which subsequently removes the dirt and debris that may have collected on it.

(Above) Bob's Simpson 'Bandit' after a 100+ mph motorcycle crash on a drag strip.

What to do after an impact. Regardless of manufacturer and regardless of visible damage, DO NOT use a helmet after it’s been subjected to a racing crash / impact to the shell. Helmets are designed to absorb impact one time. This includes drops and falling from a shelf onto hard surfaces. A compromised helmet shell is unacceptable for competition or any use where protection is expected as one would hope for from a new product. Contact the manufacturer (or your supplier) and ask for their expert guidance. Each company may be different but most will ask for the helmet to be sent in for inspection to determine if damage has been done to the shell structure.