Rubber Mat Off Gassing

Even virgin rubber will have an odor to it albeit much less strong than tdr recycled rubber.

Rubber mat off gassing. Should i worry about off gassing chemicals. A better way to gauge the safety of your mat. Natural rubber products which we ll discuss later on this article have a strong smell for the first several weeks until they air out but they aren t off gassing toxins. Manduka recommends wiping their natural rubber mats with a solution of 50 50 organic cider vinegar and water or manduka s mat restore a vinegar based solution note.

A binder typically a urethane is added to the recycled andsynthetic rubber to form the flooring or paving material. Potential sources of off gassing range from construction materials to carpeting cabinetry furniture paint and any number of household goods. The smell of your new mat may not indicate that it contains toxic chemicals. In any case rubber in order to be useful and get its elastic properties we all know and love has to be vulcanized.

Rubber is a very generic term but usually it refers to natural rubber poly isoprene or synthetic rubber polybutadiene. Off gassing is an important consideration in the selection of flooring especially in a place where thereis little ventilation as the basement. Nearly all scents and odors derive from vocs. The smell was never super strong but it definitely has a plastic odor.

The more and lower quality recycled content in your floor the more smell and the higher a chance of dangerous voc emissions. If it s made from pvc probably. So unless you can store them in such a manner that they can off gas for several weeks i think you will be stuck with the smell for a while. It is important to note that the smell is natural and not a result of off gassing from toxic chemicals.

Off gassing also known as out gassing refers to the release of airborne particulates or chemicals dubbed volatile organic compounds vocs from common household products. It took about 4 weeks but i think they have finally finished off gassing now. All rubber will smell to some degree. Tips for washing your natural rubber yoga mat.

Does that mean it s off gassing toxins. Just because a rubber floor smells does not mean it is off gassing harmful vocs. If it s made from natural rubber no. If it s made from pvc probably.

In some cases the binder can make up to10 of the material content. When you smell the rubber from a mat you re actually smelling the mat giving off volatile organic compounds or vocs. Many mats that are free from harmful materials and dyes contain natural rubber which can be pretty stinky at first.