My helmet is an older Charles Owens AYR8 before the liners were made to be removable. I’ve only had it for a few months but it is already getting stinky from all this summer sweat. What is the best way to clean and freshen up the lining? Thanks!
I used to put mine in the dish washer on the lowest heat setting with no soap. Then let it dry, but not in the sun. Don’t put anything else in with it, the fabric tends to ‘leak’. I did that a couple of times a year.
It probably shortened it’s life span a bit, but I ended up buying a helmet with a removable liner/more venting because that helmet was SO hot!!!
Give up, that helmet is over.
No but for real… once they start to go, it’s really difficult to get rid of the smell, it gets absorbed into the actual foam of the helmet which you can’t clean anyway. I wouldn’t put it in a dishwasher - ever. They’re not designed to be exposed to moisture or heat like that and I wouldn’t trust it to protect your head afterwards.
Otherwise, FRESH helmet sacks are pretty awesome. I use one for my schooling helmet that doesn’t have a removable liner (after two previous ones succumbed to the helmet stank), and I’ve had the helmet for 2 years now with no sign of the smell. Charles Owen also makes some spray helmet cleaner and a deodorizer, but I didn’t have luck using those once my previous helmets started to turn. I sympathize… it’s hard to toss out a helmet or replace it just because it smells bad… but the smell would linger on my hair until I took a shower and sometimes I wasn’t heading straight to the bathroom after a ride. I couldn’t deal with it anymore so I replaced it and kept the stinky one as a backup.
Spray it with vodka or rubbing alcohol. It won’t kill all of the stink, but it will help. Then leave it with a box of baking soda in your trunk.
Try febreeze! I use it in between washes and just on the helmet. (But I have a removable liner for when it it gets really sweaty).
Just…wash it…I have 3 AYR8’s - 2 “ultrasuede” and one leather one. I haven’t washed the leather one (it’s my show helmet and that is not in the cards recently), but the other two I just spray with cool water, use the Ivory I use to scrub legs to wash out the inside (I squirt some in my hand and just sort of rub it into the band/lining) and then rinse with cool water from the hose and hang out of the sun (in a breeze if possible) to dry. I’ve been doing this for years without issue.
I think the glue has started to let go on the older helmet where the ultrasuede is glued on the outside, but really the only time I notice is when it’s wet.
I usually hang it by the laces so that the water drips off the brim and doesn’t have a chance to pool inside the actual part that protects your melon. Not sure if that makes a difference, but it makes me feel better. 
Not to hijack the thread, but I hadn’t heard of the FRESH helmet bag- has anyone used it? How well does it work?
I no longer ride in mine daily, only at shows. It got too gross down here in Fla! That said, I washed mine in the sink - ie soaked in hot water, dawn dishsoap until water cooled. Sat outside on pavement, hot Fl. sun to dry. Worked just fine. Bought a cheaper ovation helmet for every day. The whole thing is washable.
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Charles Owen makes a great foaming spray that helps a little with the smell. The problem I had was my IRH liner seemed to be coming more loose after a couple years of occasion cleaning.
Removable liners were a great invention.
I’ve had a couple over the last few years, and I do think they help. My schooling helmet is an IRH Extreme made before they switched everything to removable liners. I’ve had it for 2 years and keep a helmet sack in it full time in between uses. No stink yet! I did have one sack break open inside a different helmet, and that sucked. All the filling got inside the helmet and it would get into my hair etc. no matter how well I thought I cleaned it out, but that only happened once. They also make sacks for boots too, but I haven’t tried those.
I suppose the low-cost version of this is just to fill a sock or something similar with baking soda if you don’t want to spring for the actual product. I just wait until they’re on clearance through Tack of the Day for like $10.
Flip the lining so it hangs outside of the helmet if you can, and hand-wash it with dish soap. Leave to dry completely.
Pyranha’s Od-Away spray works better for me than the Charles Owen deodorizer. Also, leave your helmet to dry in the sun after each ride rather than putting it away damp if you can.
I have never had any luck with the CO deodorizer. My helmets always wound up smelling the same with a slight hint of the product…mileage varies.
I use a 50/50 mixture of cheap vodka and water in a spray bottle after every ride, then hang the helmet to dry outside of my trunk. I keep a bottle of it at the barn that I added a few drops of teatree oil and lavender oil to because there are kids around and I didn’t want the tack room to smell like a bar while the helmet dried. I keep another bottle in my trailer for use after fox hunts without any added scent because we all smell like booze anyway, most days. 
I also wash my liners a few times a year–maybe once or twice a season (more in the summer, less in the winter). I soak them in a bucket with Dawn dish soap for a day or so, then just throw them in with my breeches, etc.
Seriously, no helmet deodorizer has ever worked on my helmet. What did work? A can of Lysol spray in the barn. A quick spritz after every ride, and it’s like a miracle worker. Guess the stinky stuff is bacteria and the little spritz cleans it up. Seriously, at least try it! If yours is really bad, it might take a longer spritzing for the first time. 
Dry shampoo and hanging it somewhere to air dry
I Lysol my helmet. It stinks after a week of riding and I don’t spray it.
I made my own helmet anti-stink bags - Get a bag of plain old white rice and a bottle of rosemary oil from the health food store - maybe add mint too. Put the rice in a bowl and liberally add oil. Take a knee hi stocking (or an old thin boot sock) and fill it half way with rice. Tie a knot in the stocking. Store in helmet in the bag the helmet came in. I also made some for my show boots.
And yes I have also washed the inside of a helmet using Dr. Bronner’s.
I solved this problem by giving up riding in my Charles Owen except at shows. I bought a cheapo schooling helmet with a removable liner that I wash and have now replaced at least once. Much less gross.
My safety vest, on the other hand…
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they make helmet cleaner. it’s foam and it works well.
I always put mine in the sun when I am done - the sun is a pretty good deodorizer. From time to time, I also use a lavender spray to freshen it up. I have a couple of friends that ride with bandanas under their helmets and just wash those.
This, this, this. Works well on stanky gloves too.
