Cloudy wash water

[tom_westbrook]

I've got darkroom water that's cloudy due to tiny air bubbles. It

seems mostly due to having to mix hot water with cold to get the temp

up to 68F (my tap water hovers around 45F-50F in the winter).

 

Anyway, I wonder if anyone has any ideas of how to remove/reduce these

tiny bubbles from the water before it gets into my film and print

washers? There's no way to aerate it that I can think of since the

water flows into both my washers from underneath high water level

(gravity works and versalab). Any advice would be appreciated.

[lex_jenkins]

Some sources recommend letting tap water sit overnight before use anyway, regardless of temperature. That would, at least, solve the bubble problem and get the water up to room temperature.

[frank.schifano]

A carbon filter attached to the tap will remove most if not all of the bubbles.

[conrad_hoffman]

I have the same problem- the water comes out of the temp control valve (hot+cold) and deposits tiny bubbles on film and paper. I just take my flexible hose that comes from the valve, squeeze the end down for more of a spray, and direct the jet into the wash tank or print washer. The bubbles depart and I feel better for having stirred things up a bit.

[richard_trochlil]

I have been fighting this for years with my home-made washer, with little result. There was considerable exchange over this about a year ago on this forum. I had wondered how factory made washers handled it.

Some observations;

The problem is the hot water. In my case, cold water comes in with a full load of air. When it is warmed, the warm water cannot carry all the air, so it has to be released. That is the air bubbles you see.

I have found that a 2.5 gal pail releases most of the air in five minutes. So you could use the 'soak' method of washing.

 

I tried flowing the water stream over a piece of plate glass (24x36) That took out maybe 30-50% of the air before it got to the tank.

 

I tried flowing it down a five foot long plastic trough, not much better than the plate glass.

 

And that is far as I have gotten in scientific experiments.

 

Back to the Kodak syphon and flipping prints during the winter months.

[tom_westbrook]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try the carbon filter idea, since I have a spare one handy and that seems like the simplest, hands-free idea. My temp valve has 10 or 15 micron sediment filters on the input lines (both hot and cold, but are non-carbon), but maybe a reconfiguration to move the filtration to the outlet side and changing the cartridge to a carbon one would help.

[eric bond]

I wonder if sending the water through a funnel with a coffee filter wouldn't remove most of the bubbles. Just a thought (and it's cheap).

[hans_beckert]

Why? They have no effects of which I am aware. I experience the same phenomenon, which I presume to be harmless.