Grey spots plaguing my Negatives

[13Promet]

I'm recently experiencing a new trouble which I've never gone through before.
In my last 3-4 rolls, I'm randomly getting concentrated grey spots in most of the frames.
In some frames it's severe, in others absent, in others so-so.
I don't think it's dust because, when scanned, it appears pure White rather than grey, and due to the irregular shape of the spots I'm referring to.
I've tried different developers (ID-11 and Ilfosol 3), no difference.
I rinse the film according to Ilford instructions and started using WAC wetting agent (never done before as I use osmosis HO2 for the whole developing process): no difference.
I've tried drying the film either after shaking only the reel,, squeeging with fingers and also with an actual squegee: again, no difference.
The only part of the process I haven't tried changing is fixing.
Actually, the problem started showing after developing the 6h-7th roll with the same, reused Ilford Rapid Fixer 1:4 solution.
According to the manufacturer, my 750ml solution is supposed to work for 18 35mm rolls, so it shouldn't be the cause of the issue.
I store this solution in a common drinking water PET bottle kept in the dark at about 20°C.
Could the chemical interaction between the Rapid Fixer and the PET bottle be the cause of the problem?
Other clues?

Thank you in advance for your kind support.
Alessandro

Please find hereinafter two 100% crops of 24 Mpx scans showing the problem.

 

[13Promet]

One more example where the appearance of the marks is more evident

 

[mfogiel]

It appears like some kind of crude. Now, the key question: are these white on the negative or on the positive (print)? If the fixer is muddy and does not fix well, then you should get gray spots on the negative and bright spots on the print.
Try my strategy: develop and fix directly, without any intermediate bath, using one shot solutions for developer and the fixer. I use around 80ml of concentrated fixer solution for a 900cc tank holding up to 4 135 rolls and fix for 6 minutes (8 minutes for Tmax films). The fixer is not expensive enough when you buy 5 liter tanks to worry about reusing.

 

[13Promet]

It appears like some kind of crude. Now, the key question: are these white on the negative or on the positive (print)? If the fixer is muddy and does not fix well, then you should get gray spots on the negative and bright spots on the print.

The light grey spots are on the (inverted) scanned image, so on the positive.

Try my strategy: develop and fix directly, without any intermediate bath, using one shot solutions for developer and the fixer. I use around 80ml of concentrated fixer solution for a 900cc tank holding up to 4 135 rolls and fix for 6 minutes (8 minutes for Tmax films). The fixer is not expensive enough when you buy 5 liter tanks to worry about reusing.

If I get it right, you're roughly halving the solution concentration while doubling the bath time.
Won't this much lower concentration of Rapid Fixer than the prescribed 1+4 affect the stability of the negative in the long term?

EDIT: if reusing the solution is the cause of the problem, I'm pretty surprised that Ilford prescribes parameters this far from the real, moreover against their own interest. I'm still suspecting that part of the problem could be caused by the PET bottle I've used for storing...

 

[Somersetflyer]

I had similar issues when developing both hp5 and fp4 but not tmax400. Sorted the issue by doubling the fixing time from 5 to 10 minutes and always using fresh solution. Also doubled washing time to 20 minutes.

 

[charjohncarter]

When my fixer goes 'bad' it has white snow suspended. I've never had any on negatives but you might look at some through clear glass.

 

[13Promet]

I've tried with a fresh solution of Rapid Fixer, and getting the same issue again.
This thing is driving me crazy!

 

[icebear]

Have you cleaned all your bottles meticulously (emptying and rinsing 3 times with fresh water) and checked that are indeed super clean inside before refilling fresh chemicals? From the scans you posted it looks like some kind of sediment that is floating around in one of your solutions. It sticks on the surface of the film and prevents even processing.

 

[ashfaque]

AFAIK, PET bottles are inert objects, so they can't affect the chemistry of (Rapid) Fixer, developers, and most of the chemicals. Disclaimer: I have a very rudimentary understanding of chemistry though.

It could potentially be due to the possible use of hard water? Regular water supplies in some areas have higher mineral contents (not good for film development), whereas distilled/de-mineralised water don't have those.

 

[13Promet]

Have you cleaned all your bottles meticulously (emptying and rinsing 3 times with fresh water) and checked that are indeed super clean inside before refilling fresh chemicals? From the scans you posted it looks like some kind of sediment that is floating around in one of your solutions. It sticks on the surface of the film and prevents even processing.

Can't be the developer as I get this problem both with ID-11 (which is indeed stored in a bottle that I refill rather than cleaning) and with Ilfosol 3, which I mix before usage and was coming from a brand new bottle.
The same goes for the fixer, but in this case the original bottle of the product is a few months old.
Therefore the latter could be responsible for the problem.
I will try to open a new bottle of fixer for the next development round.

Thank you for your time and precious support!

 

[13Promet]

AFAIK, PET bottles are inert objects, so they can't affect the chemistry of (Rapid) Fixer, developers, and most of the chemicals. Disclaimer: I have a very rudimentary understanding of chemistry though.

It could potentially be due to the possible use of hard water? Regular water supplies in some areas have higher mineral contents (not good for film development), whereas distilled/de-mineralised water don't have those.

You're right about the PET bottle as last time no chemical went trough it and I got the same issue.

The water over here is quite hard, indeed, but I use the same osmosis water that goes into the aquariums: pure H2O.

 

[tho60]

I guess that these spots are due to film failure.

 

[13Promet]

I guess that these spots are due to film failure.

I've developed another roll by using fresh chemicals from newly opened bottles and got the same problem again.

I've checked the last time that I've shot a different film from the batch of Tmax 400 I'm using lately, and the problem is not there.

Therefore, unfortunately you must be right!

 

[tho60]

warranty

warranty

I've developed another roll by using fresh chemicals from newly opened bottles and got the same problem again.

I've checked the last time that I've shot a different film from the batch of Tmax 400 I'm using lately, and the problem is not there.

Therefore, unfortunately you must be right!

Contact the manufacturer to claim your warranty rights. You are entitled to the replacement of infected roll.

 

[13Promet]

Contact the manufacturer to claim your warranty rights. You are entitled to the replacement of infected roll.

I've just brought the last three rolls to develop at a lab, just to be completely sure that it's not an issue depending on my processing.
If it's confirmed to be a faulty film batch, of course I will request for replacement under warranty.
Unfortunately, this will not bring me back to Malaysia, where I've shot 8 rolls of this batch, and anyway I could not repeat the same shots even if I was back there 😡
The only good point of this issue is that the spots can be effectively removed in Lightroom after scannig, but it's very boring and time-consuming: I'm only doing it for the very best shots.

 

[tho60]

I've just brought the last three rolls to develop at a lab, just to be completely sure that it's not an issue depending on my processing.
If it's confirmed to be a faulty film batch, of course I will request for replacement under warranty.
Unfortunately, this will not bring me back to Malaysia, where I've shot 8 rolls of this batch, and anyway I could not repeat the same shots even if I was back there 😡
The only good point of this issue is that the spots can be effectively removed in Lightroom after scannig, but it's very boring and time-consuming: I'm only doing it for the very best shots.

I have had similar experiences when I was on a trip in a little town. Due to film developing tank failure, I lost an irreplaceable roll.