I just received my Olfa cutting mats yesterday and laid them out on my cutting table downstairs. When I got home from work today, the whole house smelled awful. I realized that it was the mats and put them out in the garage which now smells too. Did anyone else have this problem? If so, does the smell go away? And how long will it take?

Yes they will! But in the meantime they do stink! I tried washing mine, laying out in the sun, rubbing with dryer sheets, spraying with Febreeze and they finally got to the point they were allowed back into my sewing room.

This smell drove DH crazy. when I got mine. I researched it and found that vinegar was helpful. Here's a web page with some help. http://tenthousandsewinghours.blogsp...at-smelly.html
For me, the smell was OK but not for DH so we let it air on the screened porch for a couple of weeks. Then it got to come in.
Good luck!

Hi Janet. Try soaking them in the tub with tepid (luke warm) water and white vinegar. Be sure not to use hot or cold water. Soak for several hours, remove, rinse, dry with towels, lay flat for final drying.

Please keep us posted as to what you do for the smell and the outcome.

Pam M

Hmmmmm.........that's odd! I just purchased one from JoAnn's, and it doesn't smell. Maybe it's because it's already "aired out" since it was at JoAnn's. :? I sure hope you can get the smell out of your mat! 8-)

Glad I didn't have the problem! Have asthma! Good luck. Hope u get to use it soon!

I had a June Taylor one that smelled but after a couple of weeks the smell went away.

I'm curious, why after spending so much on a product, you would have to let it air out? I didnt buy Olfa, but I didnt have any smell

I have two Olfa mats and neither one had any smell. Got them at LQS where they were stored upright without wrapping, maybe that's the difference. I wouldn't keep one with a bad odor.

crumpled up newspaper is supposed to absorb odor and it has worked well for me. (Know this from when my son got sick in my car and I couldn't get the smell out of the car). Try tossing crumpled up newspaper on top of it.