Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

While considering purchasing this item over another one I noted that several reviews stated a strong odor while using this. While I was wary of this, I decided to take a chance due the the other reviews, the price, the surface area, and the thickness. The instructions specifically state to rinse and dry thoroughly before first use. While rinsing I did observe an odor however after two cycles of thoroughly rinsing both the top and bottom of the stone (I suspect this is where others have messed up) the odor seemed to have faded drastically. I then towel dried and air dried the stone for 30 minutes before inserting it into the oven and heating it to 500 degrees for approximately another 30 minutes. During this time no odors were detected by myself or my roommates.