grann of 6

Mine is a Fiskars, too. I think it is what makes them self-healing, because I have the huge white ones from Joann and they never smelled; I have 2 large ones in my sewing studio, and the 24"x36" Fiskars will stink anything out.

dreamboat

I have 3 and none of them smelled. What did they smell like?

Kallen

My Olfa mat smelled for several MONTHS!! Ugh!

grann of 6

Okay, here goes; and please excuse the spelling on some of these pseudo-words....a vinegary, chemically, dirty feet, pungent kinda funky smell; and is still there to this day, since November so almost 6 months in a very large room with air moving around and the heat on. I was curious, so last week when the cutting mats were all 50% off, I went along smelling them. All the colored ones, even through the plastic smelled in various depths of the above smell; so needless to say I did NOT buy a new one.

Janebird

I had a stinky one too and couldn't take it back because it was a final sale. I left it outside in all kinds of weather for 2 weeks, turning it over frequently. It's been in my sewing room since and there's no odor.

pab58

My mat from JoAnn's wasn't wrapped either so I'm assuming that it was pretty well aired out when I bought it. 8-)

Donna H-M

I also have all Friskar mats and have not had a problem. They are self healing....

Pieceful Quilter

I have a very sensitive asthmatic nose, so I feel your pain. What may be no odor to some, will be a horrible odor to me.

There are products in the sporting goods section to remove smells from fisherman's hands - don't know the name. Maybe that would help? I have also heard of washing stinky things with diluted toothpaste. Weird but when you think about it, it might make sense.

Or sprinkling it with baking soda might help too.

My time

Yes mine smelled too. I washed mine with vinegar and kept them outside on the cement when I wasn't using them. Make sure you store them flat. Anyway after a few weeks of leaving them outside the smell went away. I was at my friends house and she had a new smelly mat as well and she didn't even seem to notice the smell. We bought our mats at the same time, so go figure??

ewecansew

When I walk by the Olfa mats at Fabricland--yuk, what a smell. I sell the Omnigrid and at one time they had an odor and I contacted the company and they said they had changed something in the glues used to hold them together. I find that now, they have a bit of odor, but goes away quite quickly. I couldn't stand to work with smelly mats and don't expect my customers to either. You shouldn't have to air a mat for 6 months before you can use it.