Filters turning black?

[RosieB08]

So, for the past two days I've had the filter in my machine turning black. On Thursday morning I changed out my filter as part of my regular cleaning routine, I put a fresh (out of the pack) filter in and went on with my day. After I woke up on Friday morning I noticed the filter door wasn't closed completely so I opened it to see what was stopping it from closing completely and I notice that in the center of the filter it had turned black. This has never happened to me before so I thought maybe it was because of the door so I replaced the filter with another brand new filter and made sure the door closed completely. This morning when I woke up I checked the filter and this brand new filter was now completely black!! 

Has anyone had this happen to them? What can be causing this? Please help as I'm concerned this could be harming me to breathe through the filters.

Attached is a pic showing:
Top is fresh filter, last of a six pack where the 3 out of six did not turn black when used
Left is the first filter that turned black after one night but only in the center
Right is from last night and filter is completely black.

   

[OpalRose]

Well, I've never seen anything like that. What's your environment like... do you live where there may be an excessive amount of dust or smoke? Does anyone in your household smoke? Can your rule out any mold problems in your home?

You've used this BiLevel for a few years now, did you have any prior issues with the filters turning black?

[Crimson Nape]

Where is your CPAP located while you use it? Is it on your floor?

[RosieB08]

Well, I've never seen anything like that.  What's your environment like... do you live where there may be an excessive amount of dust or smoke?  Does anyone in your household smoke?  Can your rule out any mold problems in your home?

You've used this BiLevel for a few years now, did you have any prior issues with the filters turning black?

Thanks for your reply! 

I've never had anything like this happen with my filters and I've been using a bipap machine since 2010. Also, this is my second AirCurve 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine, I had to replace my old one back in August of 2019 when the old one gave out on me but haven't had an issue with it prior to these two filters. 

No mold in the house and dust to a minimum as I'm highly allergic to both as well as tobacco smoke. We just had a new HVAC system put in the house in June and I always keep the filters changed out. 

I'm wondering if this could be from burning a Yankee candle in the bedroom prior to going to bed each night? My daughter is always sending me shipments of these candles and I have been burning the 'Dried Lavender and Oak' on and off for the past few weeks in the bedroom. I blow the candle out before going to bed though so there shouldn't be any smoke from it, right? 

This is really concerning because of my respiratory issues.

[OpalRose]

I seldom burn candles, so not sure if that could be an issue.

Change out the filter, and stop burning candles for awhile. I would also buy a separate stand alone air filter to run in the bedroom to remove any residue from the candles.

[factor]

What do the HVAC filters look like as well?

I agree with Opal.  No Candles.

[Melman]

Mold was mentioned but no mold would grow that quickly and it would be unlikely to grow on a dry filter. It must be particulates from the incoming air. I would be more concerned about breathing the unfiltered air in the room than the air from your BIPAP. The filters are actually reducing the amount of particulates you inhale from your BIPAP as compared to the surrounding air. It may be localized to the placement of your machine but I think the suggestion of a stand alone air cleaner is good. Have you been burning the candles near your machine? That would cause a local concentration of sooty particulates.

[LindanHotAir]

When we had serious wildfires in the northwest and our AQI was pushing 300 the fine filter turned black rather quickly. Go to the airnow.gov site to check your local air quality index.

[Big Guy]

It's gotta be the candles. Stop using them for a while, and see if it makes any difference.

[Crimson Nape]

One other thought; If your filters look like that, think of what you have inhaled.