ESD mat smell

[pacemkr]

I picked up this mat and the rubber smell is just too toxic, with no sign of dissipating. Is this something that I should expect with any rubber mat, or do higher quality mats not have this problem?

[coppice]

ESD mats are pretty nasty smelling things. There would be an opening in the market for a more user friendly type.

[jay]

My esd mats from Elme have been odorless.

[mij59]

This is not a rubber mat, its made from pvc.

[skipjackrc4]

I bought a 4x8 ft roll, and the smell dissipated considerably after about a month.

[pickle9000]

A day in the sun will remove most of the smell. No sun? A really warm room and some ventilation (laundry or furnace room).

[coppice]

My experience is those mats seem OK after a while in a well ventilated lab, but if you take them to a small confined office the smell returns. Good ventilation just stops the build up.

[nanofrog]

The mat you purchased is vinyl, not 2 layer rubber. Meaning it will dissipate an ESD charge just fine, but it's not suited for use around a soldering iron or sharp objects like the 2 layer rubber is (it's not cheap, but you way overpaid for that vinyl mat).

If you mean to solder on it, here's some 2 layer rubber types on clearance; also a good eBay seller (lots of options here besides size; texture, color, just mat or kit,... ; also does custom sizes if you need it). Bought from both places with no problems.

Also, here's a 2 layer mat kit from Amazon (size = 24"x48"; and it's even $0.50 less than the mat you linked ). Almost certainly the easiest way to go at this point, assuming you can return the existing mat.

As per smell, both will stink initially, and the rubber is worse IME. Leaving it in a well ventilated area for a day or two will really help (likely not gone, but quite tolerable), and it does continue to dissipate over time (smell should be effectively gone by ~4 weeks or so indoors).

[GreyWoolfe]

Please forgive the bad memory, but I bought a piece of rubber ESD mat from someone on the blog who bought a good quantity and offered the extra out to the group.  IIRC, there was a smell for a short while but it soon dissipated and the mat no longer smells.  I would go with the rubber if I were you.  I do solder on mine without issues.

[Fsck]

the rubber mats I've gotten always have a scent/weird feel but is easily removed with a quick wash.

[Michal_S]

My esd mats from Elme have been odorless.

I confirm.

[pacemkr]

Took me a while, but I finally got the Elme mat, from here

It doesn't smell at all. It's also far better quality than what I've gotten from Amazon before.

Thank you!