How do you give B&W film an archival wash?

abruzzi said:

Curious why 20C/68F water for the rinse? Is it just to avoid reticulation, or does the temp help in other ways?

I ask because right now, the only way to get water that cold is with bottles stored in the refrigerator, and there isn’t usually enough in there to do a running wash. My cold water comes out at about 88-90F in the summer (I suspect the town didn’t bury their water pipes low enough.)

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My water pipe to the darkroom (probably plastic) is buried 18 inches from the surface, Summer water can run as much as 90 degrees F. Water pipes from the city are buried much deeper than that. It is just "hot" in the Summer where you and I live. We must find other ways of working. Maybe like doing darkroom work after things cool off a bit. Like in October here. It may get cool earlier where you live.........Regards!

MattKing said:

Remember, the running water only need run so fast as to effect one complete change of water at least every five minutes. In most cases, that is barely more than a trickle.
If I'm trying to conserve water, and am using a 1 litre tank, I figure I only need 2-3 litres in total - probably less.

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I must be killing a Whale every time I wash my films, then

After dumping out the fixer, I usually rinse the film twice to remove the residual fixer, then fill the talk and let it diffuse out of the emulsion for a few minutes. I then fill and empty the tank with water five times, rinse with wetting agent then hang to dry. My used wash water gets used to flush the toilet; hey I pay for that water!

I've had no problems with this method, and considering my negs will doubtless end their lives in a landfill site, I don't really care if they fade after I'm dead. They'll probably outlast a few memory cards, anyway!