Neoprene playmat issue

I now have four playmats (Spirit Island, Eldervale, Oath and Boargametables.com) and at least two have a stinky chemical smell that makes us sick. Like actually sick–sore throat, dry mouth, head-ache… we’ve banned the boardgametables.com one first to the basement where we kept it for months to air it out and after a short trial period of two days it is now out on the terrace.

The Oath mat has a bit of the same smell. But not as bad.

So… is this a common problem? Can it be fixed? A quick internet search revealed nothing. I am reasonably sure I don’t even know what I am looking for.

Off-gassing is just part of the deal with neoprene mats. Getting them aired out thoroughly is about all you can do. The good news is the odor shouldn’t last too long.

Unroll them somewhere with really good ventilation (preferably with dry air).

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I got it in November and after two weeks or so we moved it to the basement where it was unrolled for months now… still really bad. I hope it’ll get better. It is a nice format and a neutral blue color… the best one I have right now is the thin material from Spirit Island but especially for every other game than Spirit Island the design is a bit… off.

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Sprinkle the back with bicarb (sodium bicarbonate, Natriumhydrogencarbonat, NaHCO₃) (it may mess up the printing on the front) and leave it in the sun, ideally on a rack with air circulation on both sides?

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Interesting. I have a boardgametables mat and it never had a problem with gassing. If course, mine probably fulfilled out of a warehouse here in town, from stock that might have been sitting there for a while. Yours may have have a more direct route from the manufacturer?

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Smells like factory fresh…

I’ll try @RogerBW‘s tip tomorrow.

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I have a custom one that advertises itself as machine washable. It was absolutely fine after putting it through the washing machine post large beer spill.

I think most are made with the patterns dye-sublimated so in theory the should survive going through the washing machine at a low temperature.

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I’ll just add that different people may react very differently to odours like this. A chemical smell that is unbearable for some can be unnoticeable for others. I tend to fall more into the “unbearable” category, sadly – but it’s taught me that lots of people don’t experience these things at all.

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Yup. I’ve played Ogre games on these kinds of mats, and found the smell noticeable for the first twenty minutes or so, but then stopped registering it.

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The smell is less of an issue this one is actively outgassing an irritant that is affecting my throat and mouth. I thought I had a bad case of reflux and Friday morning took one of the covid tests because it was so bad. I have not been able to figure out what chemicals are used in making neoprene but the internet informs me many stretchy materials are cured with acids… this matches with the idea of neutralizing it with soda and also with my symptoms.

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Baking soda is a good general-purpose odour consumer, in my experience.

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