Pushing down on the filler seems to help with the burnt taste sometimes...otherwise it's time for it to be cleaned. I've been using the echo for about 2 1/2 months now and really don't have any complaints. I threw away a couple that I thought I had ruined the first time that I cleaned them, but I'm pretty sure now that they just had not completely dried! It does take a few days. Hope that it gets better for you.
