Today I went to process the third film in my current batch of Thornton's 2-bath developer, mixed 6 weeks ago, and noticed that there was an unpleasant - actually obnoxious - smell coming from Bath B. It was not discoloured beyond a very pale straw colour, consistent with its age and low film count so far. I was impatient, and not too worried about the images on this film, so I pressed ahead anyway, and can see no fault in development of the negatives.
I have since discarded both baths and will mix a new batch. So it's not a problem. I am just curious whether anyone else has ever had this experience, and what could possibly be the cause? I have never encountered this issue with any darkroom chemical before. It smelled a bit like a sourdough culture that has gone off and turned into the wrong ecosystem (if any forum members have that experience). So I wondered about a fungal or bacterial contamination. I mix all chemicals with our tap water, but that is locally UV-treated. I always use the same bottles for the same chemicals, and they don't sit around empty.
I have since discarded both baths and will mix a new batch. So it's not a problem. I am just curious whether anyone else has ever had this experience, and what could possibly be the cause? I have never encountered this issue with any darkroom chemical before. It smelled a bit like a sourdough culture that has gone off and turned into the wrong ecosystem (if any forum members have that experience). So I wondered about a fungal or bacterial contamination. I mix all chemicals with our tap water, but that is locally UV-treated. I always use the same bottles for the same chemicals, and they don't sit around empty.