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Weird Smell Coming from Developed Film


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Hello,

 

After a lot of preperation I just developed my first b&w film today in my home and I was somehow succesful at developing it in the way I wanted to do it. But I have a problem about the smell. Even though I washed the negative in the tank with running water for at least 15 minutes and then washed it with Ilfotol wetting agent there is a weird smell coming from the developed film. Before that I used to give my films to several labs and none of them came with this weird smell. I developed Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 with Ilford Ilfotec DD-X developer, Ilfostop stop bath and Ilford Rapid Fixer for the fix bath. I am scared of chemicals. I learned that developing chemicals are very hazardous to health. Some of them are even carcinogens. I would be grateful if you enlighten me in this subject as I am very excited and want to develop more film.

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Ilford Rapid Fixer has a noticeable smell (to my nose anyway). I'm not really bothered by it and don't think it is particularly hazardous although I wouldn't drink the stuff. ;)

 

Does it smell like fixer? If that's the case then there are orderless fixers available. I've tried one and well... It's not really that orderless, especially while mixing.

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Stop bath usually is acetic acid, which has a vinegar smell (same chemical).

 

Rapid fixer has both ammonia and acetic acid, balanced to give the right pH.

Both of those have a recognized smell. But properly washed film should not

have those smells.

 

Not that I recommend eating them, but normal black and white chemistry is

fairly safe. Some color chemistry is not quite as good for you.

 

Some black and white toners, such as ones with selenium, aren't so good

for you. In days past, there were chemicals with mercury, but that should

be hard to find today.

 

Ordinary care should be enough to keep you safe. Many photographers dip

their hands into the chemicals when printing. I have never known any problems

caused by that. In film developing, you might get a few drops on your hands.

Keep a towel nearby to wipe them off, and you will be fine.

 

I have never heard about increased cancer rates among photographers.

-- glen

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I learned that developing chemicals are very hazardous to health. Some of them are even carcinogens.

So, stop drinking them!

Seriously, what you 'learned' was a load of scare-mongering nonsense. Commercial B&W processing chemicals today are absolutely safe to use; otherwise they wouldn't be on sale to the general public. With the provision that you follow the instructions and avoid excessive skin contact with them.

 

Some people may develop a skin allergy - dermatitis - to certain developer ingredients with prolonged contact, but occasional careful amateur use is highly unlikely to do that. No more so than to the ingredients in domestic cleaning products or hair-products or cosmetics. Most of which also have a lingering smell.

 

BTW 'pushing' the speed of a film is also a myth. You cannot change a film's sensitivity to light by simply developing it for longer. All that extended development does is increase the contrast of the negative. By rating Tri-X at 1600 EI, all you're actually doing is underexposing it by 2 stops. But I suppose 'pushing' sounds better than saying 'I underexposed my film by X stops and then overdeveloped it to try and get a printable image.'

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Ilford Rapid Fixer has a noticeable smell (to my nose anyway). I'm not really bothered by it and don't think it is particularly hazardous although I wouldn't drink the stuff. ;)

 

Does it smell like fixer? If that's the case then there are orderless fixers available. I've tried one and well... It's not really that orderless, especially while mixing.

It smells like one the chemicals I used but I can't tell which one. I will check it once I get back home.

Give it a day or so to air out and see if the smell remains.

I am currently doing that :)

Stop bath usually is acetic acid, which has a vinegar smell (same chemical).

 

Rapid fixer has both ammonia and acetic acid, balanced to give the right pH.

Both of those have a recognized smell. But properly washed film should not

have those smells.

 

Not that I recommend eating them, but normal black and white chemistry is

fairly safe. Some color chemistry is not quite as good for you.

 

Some black and white toners, such as ones with selenium, aren't so good

for you. In days past, there were chemicals with mercury, but that should

be hard to find today.

 

Ordinary care should be enough to keep you safe. Many photographers dip

their hands into the chemicals when printing. I have never known any problems

caused by that. In film developing, you might get a few drops on your hands.

Keep a towel nearby to wipe them off, and you will be fine.

 

I have never heard about increased cancer rates among photographers.

Good to hear that because I loved the whole process :) I was also telling myself that people did this for at least 100 years as professionals there is not a common knowledge that those people all had cancer because of it. I will continue to do it in a controlled environment.

So, stop drinking them!

Seriously, what you 'learned' was a load of scare-mongering nonsense. Commercial B&W processing chemicals today are absolutely safe to use; otherwise they wouldn't be on sale to the general public. With the provision that you follow the instructions and avoid excessive skin contact with them.

 

Some people may develop a skin allergy - dermatitis - to certain developer ingredients with prolonged contact, but occasional careful amateur use is highly unlikely to do that. No more so than to the ingredients in domestic cleaning products or hair-products or cosmetics. Most of which also have a lingering smell.

 

BTW 'pushing' the speed of a film is also a myth. You cannot change a film's sensitivity to light by simply developing it for longer. All that extended development does is increase the contrast of the negative. By rating Tri-X at 1600 EI, all you're actually doing is underexposing it by 2 stops. But I suppose 'pushing' sounds better than saying 'I underexposed my film by X stops and then overdeveloped it to try and get a printable image.'

These comments made me relieved. Thank you. By the way is there any recommendation for cleaning the equipment after developing the film? I just washed them with a lot of tap water and let them dry. If this is not the proper way I would like to correct it.

 

Thank you all for your replies :)

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By the way is there any recommendation for cleaning the equipment after developing the film? I just washed them with a lot of tap water and let them dry.

That's fine.

It's all that ever happened in any of the professional darkrooms I worked in.

 

With a lot of use, processing equipment will build up some stain or deposits, especially plastic tanks and reels. This can eventually make loading 'sticky'. There's not much you can do about staining, but giving the reels a scrub with an old toothbrush or the like may help with deposits and stickiness. Or an application of silicone furniture polish.

 

Stainless steel reels, and learning how to load them, are the long-term answer to loading problems. And stainless steel doesn't pick up stains.

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After 15 minutes of washing, I'd never expect to smell developer or fixer. The wetting agent may have a slightly sweet smell but I've never used the Ilford stuff. My Kodak Photoflo would be the only thing with a slight odor after processing. Don't sweat the chemicals, just follow good practices. In the entire history of photography, save for the old mercury based techniques, I've never heard of an amateur having a problem that could be traced to the chemistry. Some things, like pyro and ppd, are fairly toxic, but again, with good practices, the hazards are low. You're much more likely to kill yourself by eating trans fats, red meat and spending too much time in front of the computer.
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I suppose you made sure the water running into your tank was being fed to the bottom, say with a hose? Otherwise, there may have been a pocket of water that didn't get changed as much.

 

In my house, even in summer, the tap water quickly becomes pretty cold; certainly nowhere near 20 C, and would be less effective for washing.

 

In any case, a running-water wash for fifteen minutes is pretty wasteful. Ilford gives a scheme for washing with three changes of water and lots of agitation. I usually give one extra water change.

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I suppose you made sure the water running into your tank was being fed to the bottom, say with a hose? Otherwise, there may have been a pocket of water that didn't get changed as much.

 

In my house, even in summer, the tap water quickly becomes pretty cold; certainly nowhere near 20 C, and would be less effective for washing.

 

In any case, a running-water wash for fifteen minutes is pretty wasteful. Ilford gives a scheme for washing with three changes of water and lots of agitation. I usually give one extra water change.

Actually I had been thinking about that detail until you confirmed that this might be the case. After the fixing process I just let the tank sit under the running tap water and the tank wasn't fed up from the bottom. I thought it would be enough for cleaning. I emptied the tank twice in this 15 minutes period though but now I am not sure if it was enough. Thanks fot pointing that out.

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You can buy, or make, a length of hose with a plastic tube on the end, which goes down the centre of a plastic tank and spiral. This makes washing much more efficient, and only a dribble of water is needed.

 

A length of rubber 'Bunsen' tubing with a substantial plastic drinking-straw pushed in one end would probably do the trick.

 

This device doesn't work so well with stainless tanks and reels, so I just use five or six changes of fresh water over a period of about 20 minutes. I've had some of my negatives for nearly 60 years now, and I can't see any difference between ones that have been washed in running water and those washed in a few changes of water.

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You can buy, or make, a length of hose with a plastic tube on the end, which goes down the centre of a plastic tank and spiral. This makes washing much more efficient, and only a dribble of water is needed.

 

A length of rubber 'Bunsen' tubing with a substantial plastic drinking-straw pushed in one end would probably do the trick.

 

This device doesn't work so well with stainless tanks and reels, so I just use five or six changes of fresh water over a period of about 20 minutes. I've had some of my negatives for nearly 60 years now, and I can't see any difference between ones that have been washed in running water and those washed in a few changes of water.

Good to heat that. I will definetly do this method in my next try. How about the roll that I developed? Should I re-roll it to the reel and wash it properly this time? Can there be any damage to the negative if I don't rewash it? I am going to archive this negative in the same plastic Print File folder. I don't want any of the chemical fumes which might come this negative to damage my precious others.

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The problem of not enough circulation is always there. Lately, I put a funnel in the center of the reel, so that the water will go toward the bottom.

 

I usually do it for 10 or so minutes, with the sink on almost as low as possible, with a stream of water. Also, a few times, dump out the whole tank so it refills.

 

Warm water will float on cold, so if the water coming in is warmer, that could do it. Otherwise, there is usually enough mixing to remove the smell, even if the film isn't completely washed through.

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-- glen

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I have a 1/2" hose on my sink and just stick it in the center of my SS reels. Not even very far in, but the stream certainly shoots to the bottom. 20 minutes at a low flow has always done the job.

I will definetly wash the negatives in this fashion next time. But is there anything I should do with my smelly negative? Because I am going to store it in the same plastic folder with my other negatives and I don't want it to damage the others.

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I would rewash the strips of negatives you have by soaking them in a tray with water and changing the water 9 or 10 times. You could then briefly soak them in PhotoFlo or another wetting agent before hanging them up to dry. Clothes pins can clip to the corner the cut film strips without impinging on the images if you're wondering how you can hang them up to dry.
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