Chemistry damage?

[OM man]

Hi

I am considering developing film at home in my bathroom and before i begin i wanted to clarify whether the chemicals could damage/stain ceramic tiles, bath enamel, etc... Also i am interested to find out about disposal of spent chemistry.

Thanks

 

[bsdunek]

B&W chemicals are pretty benign. I wouldn’t worry about disposal of the quantities a small home darkroom generates. A commercial operation is something else. Although you probably won’t be using them, staining developers will stain. Some toners will also stain. This would be mostly seen in the grout joints of tile. Ceramic tile and porcelain are non-porous and shouldn’t be affected. I would recommend a good clean up after use in any case.

 

[wgerrard]

A drop of Kodak indicator stop straight from the bottle stained my kitchen counter top. It's not tile or ceramic, but some kind of cheapo compound. I wiped it clean immediately, but it did leave a faint discoloration.

I've seen a recommendation to mix developer and fixer (if you toss it after one use) together before pouring down the drain. One's acidic, the other is a base.

Most municipalities have hazardous waste regulations, but any specific reference to photographic chemicals may be intended for commercial volumes. You might also retain the waste chemicals and periodically take them to a local disposal facility.

 

[OM man]

Thanks. I wasnt intending to use any stainers or toners - to start with i was looking to use the following:

dev: ilfosol/ilfotec/HC110/tmax/rodinol
stop: ilfostop/kodak max
fix: kodak poly/tmax
WA: photo flo

Are any of the above likely to cause any permanent damage to bathroom items and result in an ear ache from the wife?

 

[dufffader]

what timing... just spilled about 5ml of rodinal all over the notebook I used to scribble my development timings, and the sink and some granite. No stain for sure.

I don't have any issue of staining by developer (rodinal, d76, HC110) nor stopbath, but becareful the fixer as it leaves (at least without any investigation, I think its the fixer) stains around the bathroom if you're not careful with spillage. It wipes off easily if you do it quickly (a few days). I do have some faint stains in my bathroom. The only issue is I have no idea if its the fixer of the stopbath. If you hose down your bathroom after each processing, I think you should be fine. I'm lazy.

 

[Rhodes]

Use t-max, rodinal and ilfosol and do not have any problems when a drop or two are splill. I think the smell of the fixer (ilford rapid) is strong, so if you drop any, it may only leave the strong scent. Well, clothes in the other hand...

I also use one of my bathroom, have fun developing!

 

[nikon_sam]

I haven't seen any stains yet...well not permanent stains anyway...if I happen to miss a spill I will see it when it dries...and so far they've all cleaned up...

 

[David William White]

If you are careful and using a daylight tank, it should be unnoticeable. Printing tends to be a bit messier, with open trays and lots of dripping. If in doubt about the 'ear ache', make some nice prints of your children and/or pets first thing, right away.

 

[OM man]

Thanks all for the responses.

Will be making a start later this week.