So let's preface this post with this. You're on eBay and you found a classic MSA TC2001 that was used by a DEVGRU operator and you scored it for a wonderful price. Great, now you have a tried and true ballistic helmet... but as you know, it's been used by an operator who likely put hundreds of hours, if not, thousands of hours into the helmet and has put it through more action than Lucas Botkin's or Garand Thumb's range times combined. So you receive the helmet in the mail, and wow, what a badass salty piece of equipment that you want to use... the inside smells like absolute death and the thing looks like it hasn't been cleaned in years. So, now you're reluctant to put the helmet on for extended periods of time and you don't have the extra money to buy a new chinstrap and pad set. Let's clean this bad boy.
Materials:
Used ballistic helmet
70% Isopropyl Alcohol
Dishwasher Soap
Antibacterial soap
A small bucket *not the helmet*
Cotton balls
Running, warm water
Screwdrivers
Hair dryer
Used Toothbrush
Preliminary Steps:
Remove the chinstrap and pads from the helmet, pretty simple to do. Make sure to place the screws in a secure location to prevent losing them and any other additional mounting hardware such as bolts and bungee cord.
Check helmet for any possible weak points that might affect the ballistic integrity, namely the areas near the screw points.
Squirt some dishwasher soap into a bucket and fill it half the way with warm water. You basically just want enough to soak the chinstrap and pads. Mix the dishwasher soap and water solution.
Cleaning the Chinstrap and Pads:
Dunk the chinstrap and pads in the dishwasher soap and water solution, and be sure squeeze the pads and chinstrap in the water as you're soaking the chinstrap and pads.
Repeatedly run the chinstrap and pads through the water for a few cycles, then dump the water out, it will be murky and yucky, trust me. Squeeze the pads and chinstrap to remove dirt and moisture.
Fill the bucket with more dishwater soap and water and repeat steps 1 and 2, or until the water you dump out each time looks clearer and clearer. If the water still looks murky, just repeat the steps.
Place a drop of antibacterial soap on the toothbrush and run it along the chinstraps and pads in the water. This will get little bits of dirt and sweat off little cracks and crevices you'd otherwise not be able to access.
When done, allow the chinstraps and pads to dry. If you want to quicken the process, you can try to dry the chinstrap and pad with a hairdryer to the best of your ability before leaving it outdoors to dry.
Cleaning the Shell:
So for this particular procedure, I decided Isopropyl Alcohol is the best cleaning solution for this because:
Isopropyl Alcohol is not extremely reactive, if at all.
Evaporates quickly.
Kills microbials and is generally used in biology labs in order to disinfect table surfaces and lab instruments.
With this in mind, I think Isopropyl Alcohol is the appropriate solution to use as it would be less likely to affect the ballistic integrity of aramid fibers and kevlar.
Soak cotton ball in isopropyl alcohol and just wipe down the inside of the helmet, you will notice that there's a brown accumulation on the cotton swab. Basically as the cotton ball gets more brown, murky and yucky, dispose of it and use a new cotton ball swab with alcohol, repeat procedure.
Pat the inner surface of the helmet dry with a clean cotton ball or towel if there is excess Isopropyl alcohol after cleanup.
If you want your helmet to smell nicer inside, you could run a moist towel with antimicrobial soap on the inside gently then pat it dry. (Optional)
I had to do this cleanup procedure today with my Ops Core Maritime because my friend plans on borrowing it for a milsim op. So great, another cleaning detail after the op! If anyone has additional questions, comment below. Any suggestions/other tips, feel free to share.
Addendums:
For ACH style pads I recommend just getting new pads as they are like ten ish bucks on ebay. You should regularly replace pads as they are apart of the impact protection system and get worn down and will transfer more of the impact to your head as they get worn. (Credit: Aaron Harring-Spoerl)
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