Respirators for the darkroom

Toning can be done in full light.

It would be nice to design a ventilation system with a variable speed exhaust fan. Then, when you having something that needs more ventilation than regular process chemicals, like in toning, increase the ventilation air flow.

Just as an idea, Panasonic makes a series of REALLY QUIET bathroom ventilation fans. They are whisper quiet. Maybe you can install something like that over your wet area and vent all that junk outside?

tkamiya said:

Just as an idea, Panasonic makes a series of REALLY QUIET bathroom ventilation fans. They are whisper quiet. Maybe you can install something like that over your wet area and vent all that junk outside?

Click to expand...

I have two of these in the rafters as exhaust, another running through a furnace filter for input. They are branded as "Whisper" fans. All I hear is the whistle of air through the PVC vent pipes. They have been running great and quietly for five years.

John Powers

I have mild allergies, and my doctor always reminds me that often, what sets off a reaction (like your throat tickle) is the "camel principle" - the one straw that pushed the aggravation factors of normal life over the top to create a reaction, however mild. I use an exhaust fan, bought from Calumet 20 years ago, sized to the room as suggested above. I also run a simple Hepa air cleaner (sized to the room) for an hour or so before I go in, and sometimes leave it on while working, depending on the humidity, etc. My darkroom is in the basement, so what I do in the summer is usually more than the winter, and I just monitor my comfort level. Also, the basement has a dehumidifier running all the time.
When selenium toning - which I do occasionally, saving up all prints for a big run, I run the fan and the air cleaner, plus a small fan which blows across in front of me to move the tray vapors toward the exhaust fan. The darkroom door can be open for this too, and a window if the darkroom has one.