Beginner problem developing in the kitchen sink

[Iodosan]

Good morning. Today I tried for the first time to develop a film at home. The problem was that at the end of the development, finding a sink occupied by water and various containers, taken by haste, I emptied the liquid into the left sink where there were also dirty dishes. I threw the liquid into the drain hole, not over the plates, but now I'm worried. I washed everything twice with dish soap and cleaned the sink. Can I rest easy or do I have to do some Further cleaning?

 

[Auer]

You are fine. Maybe practice a little more mise en place next time

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

B&W chemicals are a lot more benign than the detergents used for cleaning dishes. A simple go round with a light rinse for peace of mind is all that is needed, if that.

 

[removed account4]

Its best practice not to develop film where food is prepared or eaten. some folks claim photochemistry is benign maybe some of it is (maybe in trace amounts )
but a lot of it (Metol, Hydroquinone, Phenodine and others ) isn't, some is quite dangerous. You might consider doing the dishes before you use the sink to develop your film and maybe find a better way to dispose of your chemistry ... I am most certain dumping things down the drain ( that isn't permitted like ... soaps and dilute- cleansers (bleach, ammonia, vinegar &c ) ) isn't kosher in most of Europe.
From what my inlaws and European colleagues say, household waste disposal is done at the recycling center.

best of luck!
John

 

[Donald Qualls]

If you look around, you can probably find opinions ranging from "You need to discard all the dishes that were in that sink, and consider replacing the sink itself" to "enjoy your dinner, you're fine." In all honesty, whether there was ever a problem depends strongly on what chemicals you used. If it was Caffenol, you're fine. If it was pyro or pyrocat, you're likely still fine, given the double wash after and the small amount of either chemical in the actual working solutions.

Now, potassium dichromate would worry me, but I don't think you can even buy that in EU any more, and it's used (photographically) only in alternative process printing and as a reversal bleach.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I wouldn't worry about it, as long as you've washed everything.

 

[AgX]

All chemicals involved are watersoluable.I assume the dishes are glazed or from glass, the cutlery from steel. If ou cleaned everything with detergent and got all food rests completely off too, maybe using kitchen abrasive suspension, there will be no residue.

But as jnantz hinted at: maybe the bathroom would be the better place.

 

[pentaxuser]

... I am most certain dumping things down the drain ( that isn't permitted like ... soaps and dilute- cleansers (bleach, ammonia, vinegar &c ) ) isn't kosher in most of Europe.
John

Well those crimes that might explain why I have been on the run for several days now. It is pouring with rain and I am standing on the side of a dark highway in the middle of nowhere with my snap brim Fedora pulled down over my face for protection. Fortunately an innocent young woman has seen me and stopped to pick me up. It's warm in the car and the wiper blades are having a hypnotic effect on my tired body. I catch a glimpse of my unshaven face and gaunt eyes in the rear mirror and wonder why the young lady seems to be so serene when someone like me is sitting beside her.

Inside the car there is only that warm glow from the radio and I feel myself falling asleep when the radio announcer utters those dreaded words: "We interrupt this programme of music to bring you a special announcement about a dangerous criminal, known as the "Vinegar Villain, who should not be approached, let alone picked up by naive young women who seem to have no fear of such characters standing in the pouring rain in an unshaven state and with gaunt eyes"

She looks at me sideways and her serene expression changes. I reach over and switch the radio off.........

God, I loved those old Hollywood dramas where designer stubble,rain and desperate characters like George Raft and Humph ruled the roost with no input from Gillette

pentaxuser .

 

[gone]

You're going to have to do the dishes in the bathroom or use paper plates so that the kitchen sink will always be available for developing film or rinsing prints like it's supposed to be.

 

[Down Under]

A few bits of good advice for you to avoid this conundrum in future.

Get a large plastic basin from your supermarket, hardware store or Reject Shop. Use it exclusively for your film work.

Do the dishes before you process film in the kitchen.

Wash the sink carefully afterwards.

Don't worry about the potential damage already done. Wash the dishes a few times in hot, hot water, a good dish detergent and maybe a small dash of disinfectant. Soak well in a rinse cycle. Dry your dishes. Move on.

There you are, done!!

 

[Roger Thoms]

I use my kitchen to develop film. I like a clean area to work in so I do any dishes that have accumulated then clear of the counter around the sink, clean it well then I’m ready to develop film. After I’m done I clean up and put thing back. The kitchen sink area is always cleanest right after I’ve processed film.

Roger

 

[MattKing]

There is a good chance that you have cleaning products other the sink that are potentially far more dangerous than the darkroom chemicals.
But it is certainly best not to mix eating utensils with darkroom chemicals.
Wash and rinse the sink and its contents thoroughly.
I too develop film in the kitchen. I work in large, flat bottomed trays to protect the counter, as well as in the double sink.
I re-use and/or replenish my developer and fixer.
I discard small amounts of developer, used stop bath, used washaid and rinse water each session. The rest goes back into bottles.
And I clean up thoroughly afterwards.

 

[Kilgallb]

Well those crimes that might explain why I have been on the run for several days now. It is pouring with rain and I am standing on the side of a dark highway in the middle of nowhere with my snap brim Fedora pulled down over my face for protection. Fortunately an innocent young woman has seen me and stopped to pick me up. It's warm in the car and the wiper blades are having a hypnotic effect on my tired body. I catch a glimpse of my unshaven face and gaunt eyes in the rear mirror and wonder why the young lady seems to be so serene when someone like me is sitting beside her.

Inside the car there is only that warm glow from the radio and I feel myself falling asleep when the radio announcer utters those dreaded words: "We interrupt this programme of music to bring you a special announcement about a dangerous criminal, known as the "Vinegar Villain, who should not be approached, let alone picked up by naive young women who seem to have no fear of such characters standing in the pouring rain in an unshaven state and with gaunt eyes"

She looks at me sideways and her serene expression changes. I reach over and switch the radio off.........

God, I loved those old Hollywood dramas where designer stubble,rain and desperate characters like George Raft and Humph ruled the roost with no input from Gillette

pentaxuser .

You missed your calling, you should be a screen writer

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Its best practice not to develop film where food is prepared or eaten. some folks claim photochemistry is benign maybe some of it is (maybe in trace amounts )
but a lot of it (Metol, Hydroquinone, Phenodine and others ) isn't, some is quite dangerous. You might consider doing the dishes before you use the sink to develop your film and maybe find a better way to dispose of your chemistry ... I am most certain dumping things down the drain ( that isn't permitted like ... soaps and dilute- cleansers (bleach, ammonia, vinegar &c ) ) isn't kosher in most of Europe.
From what my inlaws and European colleagues say, household waste disposal is done at the recycling center.

best of luck!
John

+1

 

[pentaxuser]

You missed your calling, you should be a screen writer

Thanks. However as you can see my sense of the "absurd" in life would keep on getting me fired or worse ignored by almost everybody

pentaxuser

 

[removed account4]

Thanks. However as you can see my sense of the "absurd" in life would keep on getting me fired or worse ignored by almost everybody

pentaxuser

LOL. or arrested!

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Good morning. Today I tried for the first time to develop a film at home. The problem was that at the end of the development, finding a sink occupied by water and various containers, taken by haste, I emptied the liquid into the left sink where there were also dirty dishes. I threw the liquid into the drain hole, not over the plates, but now I'm worried. I washed everything twice with dish soap and cleaned the sink. Can I rest easy or do I have to do some Further cleaning?

There's always cleaning up after you process film. Luckily, my wife and I don't share a bathroom and I process my film. I have drying film reels and tanks on top of my toilet tank and I hang my film to dry in the shower stall.

 

[Auer]

Our house has 3 full baths, none of which are as nice to develop film in as our stainless steel double sink countertop in the kitchen.

I understand millions of rolls of film have been developed in bathrooms all over the world and thats great, it's just that personally I like the space of a kitchen.

 

[HowieP]

Well those crimes that might explain why I have been on the run for several days now. It is pouring with rain and I am standing on the side of a dark highway in the middle of nowhere with my snap brim Fedora pulled down over my face for protection. Fortunately an innocent young woman has seen me and stopped to pick me up. It's warm in the car and the wiper blades are having a hypnotic effect on my tired body. I catch a glimpse of my unshaven face and gaunt eyes in the rear mirror and wonder why the young lady seems to be so serene when someone like me is sitting beside her.

Inside the car there is only that warm glow from the radio and I feel myself falling asleep when the radio announcer utters those dreaded words: "We interrupt this programme of music to bring you a special announcement about a dangerous criminal, known as the "Vinegar Villain, who should not be approached, let alone picked up by naive young women who seem to have no fear of such characters standing in the pouring rain in an unshaven state and with gaunt eyes"

She looks at me sideways and her serene expression changes. I reach over and switch the radio off.........

God, I loved those old Hollywood dramas where designer stubble,rain and desperate characters like George Raft and Humph ruled the roost with no input from Gillette

pentaxuser .

That was brilliant. Thank you for making my day.

 

[Agulliver]

There are hazard warning labels on B&W photo chemicals. But likely there are also similar, if not more concerning, labels on your bathroom cleaner, furniture polish, even shaving foam.

The bottom line is that B&W photographic developer is relatively benign unless you happen to be allergic to it. Don't swig it. It is water soluble so a good wash of any dishes or cups it comes into contact to is sufficient. Some B&W fixers use thiosulphates which you're more likely to be allergic to (contact dermatitis) but again without swigging the stuff you're not going to do yourself harm.

With all that said, do what you can to avoid splashing your photo chemicals onto the dishes and other things used for food. They might get stained and you do generally want to avoid ingesting them. But there's nothing even as dangerous as there is in the sprays designed to clean your kitchen floor or sink. Wash them away and you're good to go.

I do not recommend doing what I did age 7....using roasting trays as paper developing trays! But I have to say it didn't seem to do any harm and my mother still uses those trays over 40 years on.

 

[pentaxuser]

That was brilliant. Thank you for making my day.

Thank you for that

pentaxuser

 

[AgX]

There are hazard warning labels on B&W photo chemicals. But likely there are also similar, if not more concerning, labels on your bathroom cleaner, furniture polish, even shaving foam.

The bottom line is that B&W photographic developer is relatively benign unless you happen to be allergic to it. Don't swig it. It is water soluble so a good wash of any dishes or cups it comes into contact to is sufficient. Some B&W fixers use thiosulphates which you're more likely to be allergic to (contact dermatitis) but again without swigging the stuff you're not going to do yourself harm.

Well I wish such warnings (and a general attitude of being cautious at chemical training) had been there when I started processing. I learned my lesson the hard way, that being cautious may not be enough. .

 

[removed account4]

The bottom line is that B&W photographic developer is relatively benign unless you happen to be allergic to it.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/p-_Methylamino_phenol-sulphate#section=Safety-and-Hazards
They put warning labels on all sorts of things now because some dimwit will consume some furniture polish and say they didn't know
you weren't supposed to consume it ... here in the USA there are a lot of Lawyers trying to make an honest buck and a lot of money poor citizens
who want to be less money poor, its a liability thing, like warning labels on hot coffee at a take out stand that say "caution contents hot" .. mcdonwalds was sued for millions because
somebody didn't realize hot coffee was. ... hot .
obviously people do whatever they want, I'm just glad I'm not there to cook or eat dinner in someone's home whose family members might
uses their kitchen and kitchen sink as a photo lab, too many things in this life to screw us up why risk it..
I also wash fruits and vegetables before I eat them.
YMMVFTSITW

 

[Sirius Glass]

OP, you are ok. Just wash everything well.

What I do: I keep separate sponges and scrubbers for food and photography [Keep them in separate places]. Before I change from one to the other I use Barkeepers Helper and scrub down both sinks with the appropriate sponges and let the sink dry.

 

[Vaughn]

My goodness...you can to wash the dishes with less concern than your own hands -- the dishes will wash cleaner and faster.

I suppose there are people who wash their hands two or three times in a row...