How do you dry your negatives?

RattyMouse

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In my last home, i had a nice bathroom where I could do all the work developing my negatives and then hang them in the shower. In my current home, I have a single bathroom and so I don't do any developing work there. Instead I work in the basement and then run upstairs and hang the negatives in the single bathroom. This is HIGHLY undesirable for several reasons. I'd really really like to dry my negatives in the basement but fear major dust contamination. I need some type of cabinet to store my negatives while they are drying. At B & H I can see that they sell such cabinets but they are quite expensive.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1949-REG/Arkay_602558_Film_Drying_Cabinet_CD_40.html

This would work for sure, but seems like massive overkill for me. I never have more than 6 rolls of film hanging at any one time and usually 2 or 3.

What else can I do to dry my negatives safety in my basement?

Thank you!
 

warden

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I just made a drying cabinet out of foam core and hot glue, with a door on the front. The hinge is just tape. It's kept the basement dust off of my negatives for eight years or so and probably cost five bucks in materials.
 

Luckless

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I've been thinking of making a forced air hanging chamber with a multi-stage filter.

Getting tired of relying on hanging stuff over the tub, as it can come back to bite me at times, such as tonight, when I didn't notice how late in the evening it was getting before I actually got around to developing a few rolls. Currently debating coffee now and sleeping in longer than usual tomorrow, or getting up early to take the film down before anyone else in the house is likely to be up and about.
 

rthollenbeck

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I bought a stainless x-ray drying cabinet for very little... It the greatest. It's also relatively space efficient.
For roll film you would probably need to cut into shorter pieces or get a taller cabinet.
This device would be very ez to make yourself out of any old metal cabinet. Squirrel fan, thermostat, heat element.... The parts would be very cheep if you scavenged them.

I've also used a device that holds the roll film processing spools in a tube and forces air over the film. They work well (assuming low enough dust).
 

Kevin Caulfield

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I use a very basic hanging wardrobe type set up, based on a design by APUG member Les McLean. It works well and folds down to almost nothing.
 

holggger

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I'm drying my negatives in the bathroom shower. I share my bathroom, as well, that's why I hang them there just before sleeping.
Drying all night with closed doors usually leaves them spotless, dustless and dry.
 

removed account4

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i bought a suncast plastic cabinet and took out the shelves.
i drilled holes from one side to the next and hung framers wire
( you can put anything there ) and i bought a rack of clothes pins/
i wash my film and stick it in there to dry a lot of the time.
the cabinet keeps the dust out. an even lower-tech idea
might be a garment storage bag. there is a coat hanger hook on top
and a zipper+large plastic/ vinyl bag to put all your fancy suits and winter coats in
all you would need is something to hang it on.
 
OP
OP

RattyMouse

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These are basically hair dryers with filters, right? Looks heavy. I would think drying 35mm, 36 exposure length strips would be difficult due to the length.
 

BMbikerider

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A bit late joining in on this one, but I use nothing out of the ordinary, just hang them up from hooks in the kitchen. It is usually reasonably warm, dust free, and out of the way. I always use a good wetting agent, not just a liquid detergent and they dry flat without streaking, or having drying marks. I live in a soft water area so that may be helping.
 

Pat Erson

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RattyMouse said:
I work in the basement and then run upstairs and hang the negatives in the single bathroom
Click to expand...

I too work in the basement and I hang my negs there. They're 100% spotless. The problem that plagued my film processing sessions for the last couple of years was not dust... but the insane curling of my TRI-X's (135) no matter what I tried.
But now that Kodak has successfully addressed the issue my darkroom work is nice and easy.

Leave the films in the basement where you processed them. The air will be moist enough to prevent any dust problem.
 

justpete

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RattyMouse said:
These are basically hair dryers with filters, right? Looks heavy. I would think drying 35mm, 36 exposure length strips would be difficult due to the length.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's pretty much what it is except the air doesn't get hot, only warm and that's selectable. It's designed for putting stainless spirals in the tube, which is wall mounted pointing down, and held in place with the lever hanging from the end of the tube. I mounted mounted mine on the inside of a closet door.
 

justpete

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sfaber17 said:
How well does it work? How bad is the curled film problem when drying on a reel? Could you do it with plastic reels?
Click to expand...
It works very well. Film curling isn't an issue for me, ymmv. No idea if it'd work with plastic reels but if they're the same diameter as Hewes reels then yes, they'd fit.
 

bvy

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Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but I'm also doing nothing out of the ordinary and haven't encountered any noticeable or practical problems. I process my film in our basement laundry room and hang it to dry there as well. The only precaution I take is that my wife isn't or hasn't just run the dryer, which is about six feet away. I use PhotoFlo/Final Rinse and distilled water with the film on the reel and don't squeegee or wipe. I do give the film a good shaking before removing it from the reel.
 

eddie

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Before I found my film drying cabinet, I planned on converting a tall school locker. I remember seeing them available, used, locally for $25-40, or so.

 

Agulliver

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I share a one bedroom flat with my wife, and I simply use the bathroom to be honest. We have a bath tub with a shower attachment, and a shower curtain rail above this about 9 inches from the ceiling. I hang my films from this using weighted clips on the bottom and unweighted on the top...the atmosphere is very dust free. I place a space heater in the (dry) tub, to heat the room to 35-40 centigrade and the films dry in around an hour. The wife can then use the toilet if she needs, and be toasty warm during her visits.

If you want to keep everything in the basement, you could consider a drying cabinet. There are usually plenty of used ones on the market.
 

locutus

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Final dip in photo-flo then hang them to dry in the bathroom.

One handy tip for that, run a hot shower for a minute before you hang your film. That way there will be less dust in the air.
 

LAG

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Excuse me RattyMouse

IMHO if you use a cabinet in an "unsafe" place, perhaps you will end having over time two unsafe places or a duplicate cleaning, because negatives drying apart you should worry about having the rest of the place clean as well for other tasks, right?

RattyMouse said:
What else can I do to dry my negatives safety in my basement?
Click to expand...

Do a periodic cleaning all over the place well, ensure that the temperature helps to avoid excessive humidity, and that it is high enough so that the drying does not lengthen. It would help if you block the ventilation system in the room during the drying process and you could use a air filter (for dust/pollen) in your ventilation system when needed. Do not leave the door open at any time, and it would also help while being closed if you put an antidust zip door behind, or rubbers dust protection on the edges.

Anyway, no need to get obsessed with all that said. The dust will come to visit your basement whatever you do, so be a good host and make him comfortable when he arrives, to show him the way out.

As for the rest I think we all know the precautions before and after drying negatives.

Best of luck!
 
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