Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
If they got that way in your storage facility, man up, toss them, buy new ones and store them better next time. If you do some research at various manufacturer's sources, you will find some advice on storage. They are not designed to be stored in a humid environment and a garage in Florida could certainly be called that. For the most part, their packaging is not designed to protect them from that humidity for any length of time. IMO, it's unethical to foist them off on some poor retailer just to save yourself from a valuable object lesson. There are a couple of threads here about storing filter long term here you could research. I use my wife'sFood Saver to bag them up, since mine are stored in an unheated barn/shop in Ohio. There are many other less elaborate but effective ways as well.
And auto parts stores/Wally World/any other places, they're sold inside where normally it's mid 70's low humidity and on a shelf. I store all mine in my living room...