Ilford's Wash Aid

thefizz · Aug 15, 2007

I usually only put ten sheets through Ilford's Wash Aid in a printing session so is it ok to bottle it and use a second or third time at a later date or does it go off.

Peter

BWGirl · Aug 15, 2007

I have used several different wash aids and I'v found that I can (and do) re-use them. There is one problem, and I am not sure if it i the result of my tap water or what, but if I do not go back into the darkroom for a few weeks, the solution tends to develop a bit of a slime. (Ick) I still have not expereimented with making it up using distilled water, but that's next.

Tom Hoskinson · Aug 15, 2007

If for some reason you feel that you must use a wash aid, just buy some sodium sulfite and mix 20 grams of sulfite per liter of water and use it as a one-shot for a printing session.

fschifano · Aug 15, 2007

The active ingredient of wash aid, any brand of wash aid, is sodium sulfite, a very powerful oxygen scavenger. As such, it doesn't last too long and there is no convenient way to tell if it is still good. You might be able to squeeze another session the next day from a batch of working solution if you bottle it up into a completely full bottle, but there are no guarantees. The color does not change, nor does the solution develop a different odor. If it has gone bad, it will do no harm by itself, but it will not behave as a wash aid either.

I have pretty much quit using commercially prepared wash aids for that reason. Instead, I use 1 teaspoon of sodium sulfite in 1L of water for a session and then dump it. Very economical. Wash aid is superfluous for film and resin coated papers, so I use it only for fiber based papers.

thefizz · Aug 15, 2007

Thank you all for your help.

Roger Hicks · Aug 15, 2007

Tom Hoskinson said:
If for some reason you feel that you must use a wash aid, just buy some sodium sulfite and mix 20 grams of sulfite per liter of water and use it as a one-shot for a printing session.

Plus 1-3 g of EDTA or similar chelating agent except in VERY soft water areas.

Tom Hoskinson · Aug 15, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
Plus 1-3 g of EDTA or similar chelating agent except in VERY soft water areas.

True, I don't use a washing aid, but if I did, I'd mix it in distilled water and forget the EDTA.

You can also add about 5 grams of sodium bisulfite to pH buffer the solution if you like.

Of course, as fshifano and many others have previously pointed out, if you are fixing fiber based papers with 2 fresh fixing baths and good procedures, there is no need for a washing aid.

dancqu · Aug 16, 2007

BWGirl said:
I have used several different wash aids and I've
found that I can (and do) re-use them.

Fixer is washed out into the wash aid. Fixer plus
what silver it carries accumulates in the wash aid.
Even if the sulfites of sodium and/or ammonium did
not oxidize the wash aid would eventually exhaust.

IIRC a study of various chemicals as wash aids by
Grant Haist some years ago demonstrated that sodium
carbonate worked very effectively as a hypo clearing agent.
Agfa for many years recommended a 2% solution of sodium
carbonate be used. Sodium carbonate does not oxidize.

A good test for thorough washing is the HT-2 test.
A drop or drops of a silver solution is placed on the
emulsion surface. If sulfur from the remaining fixer is
present to the extent that a silver sulfide stain is
produced then the wash is short of producing
a fixer free print.

Photographer's Formulary supplies off the shelf HT-2
or the silver nitrate which with a little vinegar and
water will make up into the HT-2. I'll post my
formula using Heinz 5% white. Dan

jeroldharter · Aug 16, 2007

Alot of people like to mix their own solutions from solid chemicals, save some money, and enjoy the DIY nature of it. For hypo clear, I just buy Permawash. It is very cheap so it is impossible to save very much money and why not try to give some money to a photographic company? Have not tried the Ilford wash aid.

It will develop a nasty scum if kept too long and its effectiveness does not last. I put 3 oz of Permawash to 1 gallon of water and use for 1/2 - 1 day of printing and then discard. Hard to justify the expense and care of a bottle to store it in.

dancqu · Aug 19, 2007

dancqu said:
Photographer's Formulary supplies off the shelf HT-2
or the silver nitrate which with a little vinegar and
water will make up into the HT-2. I'll post my
formula using Heinz 5% white. Dan

Changed my mind. I'm posting Ilford's version of the
HT-2 test. "Quite simply" a 1% solution of silver nitrate.

I've tested both the Ilford and Kodak versions.
The only difference is the increased speed at which
the Ilford version begins to show color; color that is
by it's being exposed to light. Once that drop or
drops have had their time on the emulsion and
the surplus blotted away it is time to view
carefully. After all, silver plus light. Ilford
suggest washing. Dan

Ilford's Wash Aid

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