home-made substitute for PermaWash?

I'm out of PermaWash and need to process some film. Might there be

something in my kitchen that will do the same to wash film with?

Thank you.

For film i would use Ilford's recommend procedures . They indicated that for moderm films HCA or permawash is not needed. Many people have been using the fill and dump methods for years with no problems.

Check their website for specifics.

 

FOr paper, use salt (sodium chloride); it is the cheapest and most common household product. If you

Janet:

 

PermaWash, Hypo Clearing Agent, or any other sulfite based wash aid isn't really necessary for film. Ilford's method is effective and you might save a bit of water. The process is described in the tech sheets for each of their films. See a sample here: http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/FP4Plus.pdf . Personally, I'd rather not sit there and agitate the tank, when I could be cleaning up after a session while the film washes. All it takes is 10 - 15 minutes with a very slow stream of water. You can use a solution of sodium chloride (plain table salt) as a wash aid and it seems to work pretty well. One level tablespoon in a quart of water followed by the usual procedures after a wash aid is also pretty effective in getting the residual dyes out of Kodak T-Max films.

I just started using a Soda wash for my prints as recamended by Agfa. It seems to work great, I add a few table spoons of Arm and Hammer washing soda per gallon and just toss it after I have made a dozen prints or so. The stuff is cheap, not as cheap as salt but I think I paid a $1.99 or so for a large box, and it is lasting well.

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<i>"it seems to work pretty well,"</i><br>

<i>"it seems to work great,"</i>

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Might I ask how you people know these alternative methods work? Has anyone performed a residual hypo test and compare?

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I don't use any HCA. The TF-4 fixer instruction says it's unnecessary because TF-4 is easy to wash off. I'm only too glad to save an extra step. But I cannot tell the difference either way.

Yes i have tested to ensure both film and paper are clean!

If you do a search of the internet you will find many references to Agfa's soda being an archaic recommendation. Sulphite (sulfite) is much better. There are further possible improvements with adding some other ingredients (for example to lower the pH a bit), but sulphite on its own is very good.

 

And as they have said above, unnecessary for film. Paper is where it is definitely helpful.

Perma wash is cheap as far as chemicals go. A gallon goes a long way. Use and enjoy the savings on wash times.

Bob, You're right, it is cheap. I should have said that it's more than an hour to the nearest store that stocks it, though, and I was up for processing that night. But thanks, guys. Thank you all!