Lets Clear The Air.... (In the Darkroom)

Leave a bucket of water in the corner.

Damp air is good for a darkroom, Dust falls to the floor. Leave it alone.

Just take the negs to a dry place.

 

I agree. Keep the humidity level higher than normal and don't stir up the dust. Use an anti-static brush on the negatives before printing and don't use compressed air--blowers will just keep the dust floating around to re-settle on your negatives.

 

Moisture is not good for the office pc/scanner, etc. I suggest a dehumidifier to dry the dampness before it turns to mould. Dryness also helps dry the prints. Once the basement is dry, find out why it got moist in the first place and control that. Then clean, vacuum, scrub those dust sources. Wipe down the walls and ceiling. If you just let in lie there it will stir up every time you walk through or start the fan. You are going to ventilate aren't you?

You may want to build a wall to separate dust free from normal. Seal the rafters to prevent falling dust when someone walks above. Pressurize the dust free room. Filter the air coming in with a furnace filter. Make sure your exhaust changes the air at least six times a minute. I like more.

See Nicole's question about controlling dust. http://www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20039&highlight=dust
As of today there are 31 responses.

Good luck,

John Powers

 

I just moved my darkroom to the basement this summer. One of the BIG advantages is that my basement has WAY LESS dust than the rest of the house.

If you have a clothes dryer in the basement, make absolutely sure that there are NO air leaks in the exhaust. This is pressurized air laden with dust (lint and other fine particles) and should NOT be allowed to escape. (I do not have a dryer.)

Ensure that your furnace fan is equipped with a good quality filter. Next to the dryer, the most prolific source of dust in the home is the bedrooms, followed by the living area. Dust from the rest of the house will be drawn in to the cold air return ducts from the living area and anything that is not captured by the furnace filter will be blown out the hot air ducts - you don't want this in your darkroom.

To handle moisture/humidity in the basement, you need to pick up the cool damp air from near the floor and either dehumidify it or exhaust it somewhere else. Most basements do not have air pickup near the floor so I chose to provide a duct from my exhaust fan down to floor level as well as add a pickup at the furnace. Whenever I do not need the exhaust for anything else, I let the fan pick up the cold damp air and blow it outside. Some humidity is good but too much isn't. I also find that picking up the exhaust air from near the floor helps keep the basement at a more comfortable temperature.

 

My basement has bare concrete walls, and I found them to be the source of a lot of dust. A coat of concrete sealer fixed it. Same applies to the floor, seal it and dust level drops.