If you dopn't change the hepa filter will motor burn up or explode

Here is how to do it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtLEYpGqpWU

This is a good way to stop your motor burning out. I use the lighter white cloth filter rather than the purple hepa filter. It puts less stress on the motor and gives a little more suction at the expence of a tiny bit more dust making it through.

It won't hurt anything if you don't have a problem with the tiny particles that will be blown into the air. The Hepa filters trap small particles that can be unhealthy to breath. Most of these particles consist of human skin and hair, pet dander, dust mites, etc.. Many people are not bothered by these tiny particles. Others, like asthmatics, can have serious complications from them and the Hepa filters really help.

The foam you see is probably there as a noise suppressor. It shouldn't be curled up but age and heat
can do that. If the odor is an electrical smell that may mean the motor is going bad.

The HEPA filter is not a cleanable item. The pre-motor filter is the washable one.

Check both the bag and the HEPA filter behind the bag, torwards the motor. The HEPA filter could be clogged. Love these units but it takes clear attention to multiple filters.

There are two filters on the blue moon. The hepa filter and the motor filter. You get to both filters the same way. You open the lid, like you do when you change a bag. The motor filter is right behind the bag inside a plastic cover. There should be two tabs you can pull down to open and access the filter. The hepa filter is located toward the back of the bag chamber but on top. There is one tab in the middle that lift up on.

Just took my Dyson in and yes my HEPA needed changing. It's under the right wheel (as you're looking at the machine); you can see it through the "vents" above the wheel. The screw is on the bottom of machine.

You will probably need a Torx (star) 15 screwdriver -- that's what Dyson seems to use everywhere.

I just fixed my HEPA filter not rotating!!

It involves taking apart the vacuum HEPA area. All screws are the same size. There are a LOT of 'em. Really straightforward putting it back together too.

ok, once you take the HEPA canister area off the vacuum, careful with the wires! Unplug them from the controller board. You open up the HEPA chamber by removing more screws until you see where the motor that turns the filter is mounted on the side. Remove motor from the green chamber. Note where the washer goes. Once the motor is off, you'll see that the center hub that drives the HEPA filter is rounded out. What I did was jam little bits of aluminum from a pop can into the space between the circle and the square to force the walls back to square. I started by folding a little piece of aluminum over and over so it was about three layers thick. Jammed that in. That wasn't quite enough thickness so I shoved another piece with it. If you can find something that is about 4 times the thickness of a pop can aluminum, that'd probably work too. Slight wedge shape on the tip would help. Any sort of tiny shim.

To test your work, just put a couple of holder screws into the HEPA cannister housing, plug in the cover/switch, plug in the HEPA moter. Turn it on for a few seconds to make sure the filter turns. Then you can add more thickness to the hub or put things back together.

It maybe that the filter is in need of replacement. They need to be changed once a year.