One other tip I used, is to actually raise the mats off the ground. I put them in my backyard and put some old paint cans & cinder blocks under them so that air was able to circulate under the mat.
Bought four 6'x4' mats and scrubbed them down with soap and water and a pressure washer & left them outside for 2 days then brought them inside and set them up in our flex room near the front door, but the rubber smell was still potent. It took about 2 weeks for the smell to subside somewhat, but at least my wife said the smell is bearable now. Happy Wife...Happy Life!
I bought 8 of them. After all the work to get them home, I power-washed them and scrubbed them with simple green. I’ve repeated that process daily for 5 days straight, they have sat in the sun for 5 days as well. There is NO reduction in smell, not even a little. I’m really annoyed that I went with stall mats…
Use cat litter and this absorbs the smell also keep it out in sunlight for a few days and the smell disappears. Keeping rubber weight plates in a box with cat litter also helps remove the smell significantly
@@user-fi6hg8vq6c Pack them in a bag or cover and put the litter in or spread the litter over it as a layerImportant is to have a layer on both sides. You need to give time for adsorption of all the volatile organic compounds. I do these also for cheap rubber bumper plates - put them in a box and fill with cat litter covering it and also in between plates aerate well afterward (both sides). You can also put them out in sunlight where the UV rays also do part of the job
Thanks for the tips - I bought a couple of these and returned them since the smell was so strong. Thinking I might try again, and put them under my deck outside for a month or two and see if that helps! It's high up so they can get plenty of air. And Go Bears!
WOW last 2 mats I bought at TS had no smell., late October just before Halloween ( massive frost 22 degrees here along the shore line in CT. I still love my WOOD rack almost 36 years later. Yeah I'm 54 6-1 30o lbs
Yeah the first two I bought didn't have much smell to them, but I think they were outside and exposed to sun. The last 6 I bought came delivered straight from the factory and still smell awful. I think leaving them out in the sun and washing them is the only solution. I already have them installed so I am going to try to heat up the garage really hot and vent it with fans
I ahve had mine installed in my home gym for 1 eyar and the smell is as bad now as it was when we put them in. We ahve to exhaust the room before we use it with a quiet cool ceiling vent fan its that bad., So don't know what to tell you , our is bad.
It’s all relative to what you consider “that bad”, but it’s very strong the first couple of weeks. It also depends on how many you get at once. I honestly dont know what exactly I would compare the smell to - it’s not just a rubber smell - its something more than that.
Sucks there are very little good options out there. I'll be sitting mine out on the deck for two weeks and flip them per week. Even after the smell is gone, we should still be conscious of the fact that these damn things are toxic so using them in a garage/shop is all I'm trusting these with. Never putting them in the house.
You realize that horses sleep on them once they've been off gassed and if it was still toxic, they trail o dead horses would have been a pretty big giveaway. Washing them down with baking soda and vinegar usually does the trick.
I saw a rerun episode of friends where Joey pee'd on the horse stall mats and that stopped the rubber smell.... kidding don't do that. Unfortunately with regard to the rubber smell my last gym space was the whole basement so took about about month with the windows open to dissipate. That was for 28 mats so if your using less probably not as long. That was even with laying them outside for a week before bringing them in. With the door closed there was only a little smell of rubber near the entry upstairs. Now I am in the double side of a three car garage and about to go through the process again in another state after a move.
I'm dealing with the smell now. Have them in my basement 😬. Vulcanized and fully recycled rubber stall mats. I read online recycled mats have a worse smell. Had them in there a few months. Opening the windows helps. If I leave the windows closed the smell makes its way up to the main floor. May bring them outside in the summer if the smell doesnt dissipate.
@@hortonbarbell I don't know, maybe recycle. I can't smell it as long as there is fresh airflow, but once I close the window and turn on the air conditioner, I can smell it immediately.
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Starts addressing issue at 3:57
Thanks great videos but lots of FILLER material
Appreciate the feedback and noted. Trying to improve eliminating some of the fluff in future videos.
Was wondering when he would ‘expedite’ the vid and get to the point!
One other tip I used, is to actually raise the mats off the ground. I put them in my backyard and put some old paint cans & cinder blocks under them so that air was able to circulate under the mat.
That makes a lot of sense. The more airflow the better, right? Great tip. Thanks
Literally in the car on the way home from Tractor Supply & I was not prepared for this smell 🤢 thank you for this video!!!
Lol… its pretty brutal at first!
Bought four 6'x4' mats and scrubbed them down with soap and water and a pressure washer & left them outside for 2 days then brought them inside and set them up in our flex room near the front door, but the rubber smell was still potent. It took about 2 weeks for the smell to subside somewhat, but at least my wife said the smell is bearable now. Happy Wife...Happy Life!
4 mats from tractor supply have been sitting outside for 2+ months (flipped every other two weeks, baked in sun, soaked in thunderstorms)
I bought 8 of them. After all the work to get them home, I power-washed them and scrubbed them with simple green. I’ve repeated that process daily for 5 days straight, they have sat in the sun for 5 days as well. There is NO reduction in smell, not even a little. I’m really annoyed that I went with stall mats…
I understand your struggle, trust me, I do. Give them a little more time.
@@hortonbarbell Hoping for the best. Unfortunately the forecast is 50 degree weather and rain for the next 7 days straight, that doesn’t help.
Did it eventually get better?
@@jpizz88 hey man, did the smell ever disappear from your mats?
@@absbi0000 Nope, it never got better. Luckily Tractor Supply was cool letting me return them even after weeks had passed since purchase.
Holy smokes. 8 min vid for “air out your mats”
Use cat litter and this absorbs the smell also keep it out in sunlight for a few days and the smell disappears. Keeping rubber weight plates in a box with cat litter also helps remove the smell significantly
Thats an amazing idea. I’ve never heard of it before, but it makes a whole lot of sense. Thanks for sharing!
also Charcoal
How? Pour cat litter on the mats?
@@user-fi6hg8vq6c Pack them in a bag or cover and put the litter in or spread the litter over it as a layerImportant is to have a layer on both sides. You need to give time for adsorption of all the volatile organic compounds. I do these also for cheap rubber bumper plates - put them in a box and fill with cat litter covering it and also in between plates
aerate well afterward (both sides). You can also put them out in sunlight where the UV rays also do part of the job
I guess this helped me decide to put my gym in the garage now instead of the basement!
Everyone’s situation is different but I would def choose garage over basement if I had the choice
We used our Ozone machine and it worked in a day. Smells like a pool now but better then it was.
Brilliant idea.
Great idea
Thanks for the tips - I bought a couple of these and returned them since the smell was so strong. Thinking I might try again, and put them under my deck outside for a month or two and see if that helps! It's high up so they can get plenty of air. And Go Bears!
That sounds like a great idea. Go Bears!
Skip to 4:00 for the tips
Awful smell? It gives me +10lbs on my bench and +50lbs on my deadlift!...."I love the smell of stall mats in the morning..."
😂😂😂
Chemicals affect your swimmers! I'd let them air out for sure!
@@Anniefawesomegood 😂
you should wear a good respirator when dealing with new mats (volatile organic compounds are no joke)
Thats a great point. I’ve also had discussions with other coaches about how bad working on brand new turf fields (with recycled rubber) actually was.
WOW last 2 mats I bought at TS had no smell., late October just before Halloween ( massive frost 22 degrees here along the shore line in CT. I still love my WOOD rack almost 36 years later. Yeah I'm 54 6-1 30o lbs
Yeah the first two I bought didn't have much smell to them, but I think they were outside and exposed to sun. The last 6 I bought came delivered straight from the factory and still smell awful. I think leaving them out in the sun and washing them is the only solution. I already have them installed so I am going to try to heat up the garage really hot and vent it with fans
Thank you for this - because i Have one in my house under a bike and i woke up last night and wanted to scream 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Kept them outside for 2 weeks. Rained on , blown on,heated on. Hardly any smell at all when fitted. Your right , Patience is the key. 👍
Yessir! Thats great to hear.
‘Patience is the key to paradise.’ - Turkish Proverb
It takes about 2- 3 weeks for the smell to go away..
I ahve had mine installed in my home gym for 1 eyar and the smell is as bad now as it was when we put them in. We ahve to exhaust the room before we use it with a quiet cool ceiling vent fan its that bad., So don't know what to tell you , our is bad.
That sounds awful. I’ve never had that experience myself, but I have had a couple people reach out to say the smell has stayed an issue for them.
use odoban 3 times on each side lettting it dry each time before application. completely removes the smell
Interesting. Will have to give that a try next time. Thanks for the tip
Thanks Man!❤
The smell can't possibly be that bad. Does it just smell like rubber?
It’s all relative to what you consider “that bad”, but it’s very strong the first couple of weeks. It also depends on how many you get at once. I honestly dont know what exactly I would compare the smell to - it’s not just a rubber smell - its something more than that.
@@hortonbarbell thats was she said kekeke
Put playback speed at 1.5x and its normal
Thanks for making this video
Subbed. Good content!
Appreciate that!
Good video bud
If left outside will rain or moisture effect them?
Not in the least. In fact, they’re typically stored outside at Tractor Supply.
Does the smell get away completely? Or like 70-80%? Good video btw 🤝
For me the smell is gone completely. And thank you!
Sucks there are very little good options out there. I'll be sitting mine out on the deck for two weeks and flip them per week. Even after the smell is gone, we should still be conscious of the fact that these damn things are toxic so using them in a garage/shop is all I'm trusting these with. Never putting them in the house.
You realize that horses sleep on them once they've been off gassed and if it was still toxic, they trail o dead horses would have been a pretty big giveaway. Washing them down with baking soda and vinegar usually does the trick.
@@amandabolah5116 horse stalls are in well ventilated spaces, not inside a house.
The air quality will improve over time as they gas off, you can use an air monitor to check.
I still have the smell over a year and half
thanks man :)
wats wrong with the smell, it dont bother me, smells like new tires, and its not overwhelmingly strong at all
are these mats easy to roll up to move/transport?
Easy? Debatable. They are 100lb mats. They can be rolled and moved but having a second person is really helpful.
come to the point, actual content starts at 4:15.....
Great video but I would add a tip don't buy in the winter definitely a spring or summer purchase......
Probably depends on where you live. Up north where there is no sunshine for 3 or 4 months, you have a good point.
Has anyone tried using Febreeze or Odoban or some other odor control solution?
Febreeze is an interesting idea. Never tried it, but seems like it would be effective.
That's just more harmful chemicals.
How do you not have more subs? This is just good solid advice!!
Appreciate that! I dont get caught up in the subs. I’m just having fun doing it
I saw a rerun episode of friends where Joey pee'd on the horse stall mats and that stopped the rubber smell.... kidding don't do that. Unfortunately with regard to the rubber smell my last gym space was the whole basement so took about about month with the windows open to dissipate. That was for 28 mats so if your using less probably not as long. That was even with laying them outside for a week before bringing them in. With the door closed there was only a little smell of rubber near the entry upstairs. Now I am in the double side of a three car garage and about to go through the process again in another state after a move.
28 mats is an impressive space and yes, with that amount of mats I could see it being more of an issue. Problem I’d def love to have one day.
@@hortonbarbellthey were not 4x8s though...big mats in a basement a workout getting them there. Mostly 4x6 .
I'm dealing with the smell now. Have them in my basement 😬. Vulcanized and fully recycled rubber stall mats. I read online recycled mats have a worse smell. Had them in there a few months. Opening the windows helps. If I leave the windows closed the smell makes its way up to the main floor. May bring them outside in the summer if the smell doesnt dissipate.
Airflow is huge. Use a fan or two if you have them to try and pull air outside when you have your windows open.
Basically all he said was sit them outside in the sun for 3-5 days
The smell of my bumper plates is awful, it smells the same for a week.
What kind of plates did you get? Virgin rubber or recycled?
@@hortonbarbell I don't know, maybe recycle.
I can't smell it as long as there is fresh airflow, but once I close the window and turn on the air conditioner, I can smell it immediately.
The smell of recycled plates takes longer to dissipate for sure. Keep letting those things have as much airflow and sunlight as possible.