It's warm out now, I sweat. The sweat gets into my gloves, textile jacket, helmet, boots, you name it. How the heck do I clean this stuff? I left my jacket outside yesterday and it hit 87 degrees. Needless to say it does not smell the best (yuck). So lets hear how you clean your gear because you know every time you ride its ATGATT and you want to smell fresh and clean (at least most of you should).

Some helmets have removable liners inside them that can be taken out and washed.

Jacket i would assume that if you have one with removable armor you could take the armor out and wash it in a washing machine like any other jacket.

Boots?  just wipe down the outside?  Never cleaned the inside of a pair of sneakers before so wouldn't think of trying to clean the inside.

Gloves same but i have never really cleaned a pair of gloves i have owned before.

If you really want to i am sure you could take stuff to a dry cleaner and they would know what to do with them if they really do smell as bad as you say.  Personally i haven't had my gear long enough yet to really smell.

As far as your ATGATT you are missing a pair of riding pants which i would treat the same as the jacket.

Also you could always just go the route of constantly spraying your gear with febreeze to mask the smell.

I would think you could toss your gloves in the washer. They'll just be a little stiff for the first ride or two. If your stuff is smelling that bad, you could consider buying a vented jacket. It'll keep you considerably cooler in the hot weather. Otherwise there's no reason you can't just pull out the pads and toss it in the washer. Just be gently on the dryer cycle. You don't want to melt the liner.

Nice helmets have removable pads that can be tossed in the washer. If yours does not come out you'd just have to get creative with cleaners that don't harm styrofoam.

Buying a helmet with a removable liner is always a good idea because sweat will help to deteriorate styrofoam in a helmet a lot sooner, so you'll get a lot more life out of your helmet if you pay a little more for one with a removable liner.

After sitting for 3 years I pulled out one of my old pairs of gloves that I used to love, and found that the foam that was in the cuff/guantlent part of the gloves had gone stiff, and would literally just crumble inside the glove if I squeezed it with my fingers. I imagine that's what would happen to a helmet, and hopefully it starts doing it a little at a time when you're putting your helmet on over and over until you realize it's not fitting right anymore, instead of doing it when it's impacted on the ground.

The jacket can be washed, thank goodness hehe. Next time I will know not to leave the jacket in hot temps after riding.

One of the few downsides to riding a motorcycle is that in the right circumstances you may smell a little bit more than the average car driver, but there's not a ton you can do about it when you're wearing full gear in 80+ degree weather. On the other hand, I can use the helmet as an excuse to no bother doing anything with my hair.

Mesh jacket FTW!!!

I have a mesh jacket - with liners for Winter.

Summer gloves have mesh.

Washing is a matter of getting wet. So either get caught in a rain burst - or - hang and hose. Done. 

Michael

Helmet - use Helmet Fresh (http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=HFRESH)

Jacket - Follow manufactures instructions.

Everything else - Fabreze Sport (http://www.febreze.com/en-US/collections/sport.aspx)

- Porkchop

Quote from: Porkchop on May 25, 2010, 01:04:23 PM
Helmet - use Helmet Fresh (http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=HFRESH)

Jacket - Follow manufactures instructions.

Everything else - Fabreze Sport (http://www.febreze.com/en-US/collections/sport.aspx)

- Porkchop

WOW awesome thanks!!