cleaning/ detoxing the inside of your helmet question

[ruthardus]

ok, I am not totaly unknowledgeable about this, but recently my fighting helm has begun burning my eyes and irritating my eyes. I know your supposed to change the padding out periodically, and when the blue padding turns grey of its own accord..thats bad. It feels like I'm breathing hot acid up into my eyes. It must be some kinda reaction to a mold or bacteria/ funk inbedded inside. Arming caps help, but my large noggin leaves no room for them.
So heres my concern. I'm going to strip out the padding, scrape / scrub the lining, and since it's stainless and brass, I was thinkning of dunking it in bleach water...but I'm concerned what it might do to the brass, and how long the bleach smell might invade my senses afterwards. Fabreese doesnt work, and gives you a headache and a cheap high.. what cleaning would you suggest?
What padding do you suggest for further use? is there a treatment I can apply to help prevent this? I've never had this happen before, but the problem has been growing for the last 3-4 months to where I cant stand to wear it, and my eyes are red and puffy afterward till the next day.

[Infectious]

My father always sterlized his leather by soaking it in uncut hydrogen peroxide, the 3% kind you find anywhere, not the hair-bleaching kind.
For the metal, if you're concerned about the bleach affecting you, spray the bleach out of a spray-bottle so there's not so much of it. That's how I disinfected my fridge after Hurricane Ike. And to clean it all up afterwards, probably scrubbing it with baking soda will absorb it all. It would also probably get rid of the smell from the leather, if you let it just sit on there.

[Kilkenny]

Use vinegar, not bleach. It's a highly effective fungicide. Rinse it off thoroughly, sprinkle some baking soda on, then rinse again. Dry thoroughly.

Don't use the blankety-blank-blank blue foam.

Get some sorbethane, if you've really got a problem fitting a reasonable amount of padding into your helm. It's incredibly efficient at absorbing energy and you don't need a thick layer for it to work. I use it in conjunction with foam neoprene rubber pipe insulation with very good success.

As for keeping the funk down in the future - Air the helm out now and then. Put it upside down out in the sun - molds of any kind can't live in sunlight.

Try a light fabric cap on your head to help catch some of the sweat before it gets sucked into the helmet lining

[hrolf]

As Kilkenny says, wear a coif.

When you reline your helm after it's defunkified, and you've thrown the old foam out, lay a layer of duct tape down first, then glue the padding to that. Next time, stripping it out won't suck as much.

[Kilkenny]

ok, I am not totaly unknowledgeable about this, but recently my fighting helm has begun burning my eyes and irritating my eyes. I know your supposed to change the padding out periodically, and when the blue padding turns grey of its own accord..thats bad. It feels like I'm breathing hot acid up into my eyes. It must be some kinda reaction to a mold or bacteria/ funk inbedded inside. Arming caps help, but my large noggin leaves no room for them.
So heres my concern. I'm going to strip out the padding, scrape / scrub the lining, and since it's stainless and brass, I was thinkning of dunking it in bleach water...but I'm concerned what it might do to the brass, and how long the bleach smell might invade my senses afterwards. Fabreese doesnt work, and gives you a headache and a cheap high.. what cleaning would you suggest?
What padding do you suggest for further use? is there a treatment I can apply to help prevent this? I've never had this happen before, but the problem has been growing for the last 3-4 months to where I cant stand to wear it, and my eyes are red and puffy afterward till the next day.

I forgot to mention - Fabreze in the helmet is flat out toxic - been there, done that, was not fun.

Fighting in a helm that is growing stuff can be seriously hazardous to your health. Fought in a helm with a mold problem that I hadn't recognized existed (it came up fast after Pennsic Four) and I was down for a good couple of weeks with some of the worst bronchitis you could imagine.

[Steven H]

Get some sorbethane, if you've really got a problem fitting a reasonable amount of padding into your helm. It's incredibly efficient at absorbing energy and you don't need a thick layer for it to work. I use it in conjunction with foam neoprene rubber pipe insulation with very good success.

Any recommendations for where/how to get sorbothane? Any additional info on it?

Thanks,
Steven

[Leopold der Wolf]

My friend lord Magnus sprays lysol disenfectant in his helm after every practice. Also might wanna invest in a period quilted liner that you can just toss in the washer after fighting.

[Amanda M]

An alcohol wipe would work well too. We use them at work to disinfect the ambulances and equipment. Since it evaporates the alcohol doesn't leave residue or much of an odor. And it kills most stuff.

[Kilkenny]

Get some sorbethane, if you've really got a problem fitting a reasonable amount of padding into your helm. It's incredibly efficient at absorbing energy and you don't need a thick layer for it to work. I use it in conjunction with foam neoprene rubber pipe insulation with very good success.

Any recommendations for where/how to get sorbothane? Any additional info on it?

Thanks,
Steven

McMasters Carr carries it in several forms. They're the easiest source I know of. It's a brand name for a polymerized neoprene (as I understand it) with an energy absorption of something like 98 %. Black, shiny, doesn't look at all like any kind of foam - which makes sense, since it is not a foam.

[Steven H]

McMasters Carr carries it in several forms. They're the easiest source I know of. It's a brand name for a polymerized neoprene (as I understand it) with an energy absorption of something like 98 %. Black, shiny, doesn't look at all like any kind of foam - which makes sense, since it is not a foam.

Thanks,
Steven

P.S. It comes in multiple hardnesses' and thickness' - which do you recommend?

[Kilkenny]

McMasters Carr carries it in several forms. They're the easiest source I know of. It's a brand name for a polymerized neoprene (as I understand it) with an energy absorption of something like 98 %. Black, shiny, doesn't look at all like any kind of foam - which makes sense, since it is not a foam.

Thanks,
Steven

P.S. It comes in multiple hardnesses' and thickness' - which do you recommend?

I'm not familiar with the hardness range. What I use in my helm was sold as a running shoe insole and ranges from about 1/8 inch thick to a max of 1/4. I use it together with foam neoprene, not alone.

[Derian le Breton]

How durable is that stuff?

-Derian.

[tvetree]

While it will not help with what you have growing.It kinda fits the thread.


Placing a Dryer sheet in you helm cuts the smelly part of funk way down,just take it out before you fight.Sucks having a dryersheet slid over you eye while fighting

[Rockman18]

As an alternitive to a uilted arming cap you could buy a welders cap there this and work pretty well at absorbing sweat

[Kilkenny]

How durable is that stuff?

-Derian.

The sorbethane ? Mine is under another layer of foam, so it's not getting any kind of abrasion or anything. I've had no signs of breakdown or other problems and it's been in there for several years.

[audax]

How durable is that stuff?

-Derian.

It should be very durable. I use it in some of my harness and it shows no sign of wear at all in 3 years of use.

[audax]

What works really well is cloth padding rather than the blue foam. YOu can take it out and wash it or lay it in the sun to kill the molds or whatever.

The blue foam is very insulating thus very hot and you will sweat many more buckets than you would if you use a padded cloth liner. This will minimize any mold growths.

Before anyone starts crying about how they don't know how to make them, Knowne World Treasures sells them off the shelf. There are also a number of how tos on the Net.

[audax]

All kinds of info on sorbothane, even what adhesives to use with it: http://www.sorbothane.com/

Another place to buy it: http://scientificsonline.com/product.as ... 1241055115

It's amazing what one can find with a simple Internet search.

[ruthardus]

looks like cool stuff...but did you notice the $61 price tage on a 12" X12" piece of 1/2"? you could easily invest 40-70 $ padding a helm! That stuff better come with a super duke guarentee and 3 serving wenches to carry my spangen!
But, again, looks like promo stuff!

[Vermillion]

I like period fabric liners myself, but if you want foam....

Windrose also sells a high density black foam that makes a very nice liner. Its not cheap, but sucks up energy very well.

[InsaneIrish]

I like period fabric liners myself, but if you want foam....

Windrose also sells a high density black foam that makes a very nice liner. Its not cheap, but sucks up energy very well.

The windrose black EVA foam works great.

I have it in my new Burgeonet from Patrick Thaden. I can put 1/2 the thickness in the helm with about twice the cushyness using the black EVA.

I am going to switch out all my old blue foam in my helms for the black EVA.