Spilled developer in carpet

[BetterSense]

I just spilled about 500mL of Dektol on my carpeted 'darkroom'. I soaked as much up with a towel as I could; now it smells in there. What can I expect? Will it bleach the carpet or what?

 

[nemo999]

I just spilled about 500mL of Dektol on my carpeted 'darkroom'. I soaked as much up with a towel as I could; now it smells in there. What can I expect? Will it bleach the carpet or what?

The bad news - it will probably form mold and rot the carpet if left.
The good news - developer is extremely easy to wash out, I would wash the carpet with shampoo and as much water as possible and dry it with fabric and/or paper towels. You'll know you've got it all out when it stops smelling!

 

[Bill Mobbs]

I have spilled small amounts of Dektol on carpet before, but not 500ml. I never detected a smell. That could be from the rubber pad below. When it drys you will have a brown stain that can be removed with plain water. I always used a stiff scrub brush and water, then soak up with towels and repeat until the stain is gone. This worked more than once for me.

Best regards, bill

 

[Anscojohn]

Sorry about your mishap. How 'bout just squeeging your prints on the carpet instead of developing them in tray? Grin.

 

[DJGainer]

I think you should be more concerned with the water damage 500ml of water will do to the carpet rather than the stain (which should wash out).

 

[L Gebhardt]

I would try to get all of it soaked up. Rent a wet carpet cleaner (the kind that sprays down water and then vacuums it up). You don't want the chemical powder floating around your house once it dries. I can't say if it will stain. If you can remove the carpet from your darkroom that would be ideal.

 

[Photo Engineer]

You do not want to get developer residue into a wet carpet cleaner. Many parts are aluminum and the alkali in the wet carpet cleaner will seriously damage them. I would first neutralize the alkali with dilute acid such as vinegar or citric acid. Actually though getting the chemicals into the works would not be a good idea anyhow come to think of it. The best thing would be to lift the carpet, wash it out and either dry it and relay it or discard it.

Why wash it before discarding it? You don't want anyone touching it with the chemistry on it.

PE

 

[BetterSense]

The darkroom is a walk-in closet and the carpet is contiguous with the rest of the room. I actually forgot to check if there was a stain there this morning, but last night I soaked as much of it up with paper towels as I could.

 

[wiltw]

Stain occurs as the developer oxidizes! Neutralizing with weak acid (stop bath) is a good idea. After neutralizing, then diluting with fresh water, going at it with a carpet cleaning unit or shop vac is a good idea to pull up as much as you can, then lifting off the floor to air dry.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Guys;

There will be Metol, HQ and sulfite in the shop vac or carpet cleaner container. What do you do then and how do you clean the unit(s)?

Our daughter once cleaned up a cola spill in her car with a shop wet vac. It corroded the metal parts and gummed up the motor due to the acid and sugar.

PE

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

Guys;

There will be Metol, HQ and sulfite in the shop vac or carpet cleaner container. What do you do then and how do you clean the unit(s)?

Our daughter once cleaned up a cola spill in her car with a shop wet vac. It corroded the metal parts and gummed up the motor due to the acid and sugar.

PE

Wow, that is as useful as having a wooden airplane that catches fire when it rains.

 

[wogster]

The darkroom is a walk-in closet and the carpet is contiguous with the rest of the room. I actually forgot to check if there was a stain there this morning, but last night I soaked as much of it up with paper towels as I could.

I would also suggest removing the carpet, put in a nice one piece flooring like linoleum, in a plain colour or with very little pattern to it, pick a colour that complements the carpet colour, and you have solved your problem in the future. Since the flooring is thinner then the carpet any spills in the future will stay on the flooring rather then working their way to the carpet.

 

[BetterSense]

I think my apartment's management would frown on that. There doesn't seem to be much of a stain yet.

 

[wogster]

I think my apartment's management would frown on that. There doesn't seem to be much of a stain yet.

You could always ask them, if you told them you damaged the carpet in the closet, and you are going to replace it with linoleum in the closet only, at your own cost, then most apartment managers and owners are fine with that. Especially if you tell them it makes the closet easier to keep clean.

 

[bsdunek]

I hope all this advice helps you 'FIX' it! Groan.

 

[brofkand]

ShamWow!

 

[Sirius Glass]

ShamWow!

What he said.

It works better than advertised.

Steve

 

[Anscojohn]

Steve Anchell suggests dampening the stain with a 5% solution of potassium permangante; allowing it to set for a few minutes; then applying a 10% solution of sodium bisulfite. It might bleach the color, though.

 

[Aurum]

I hope all this advice helps you 'FIX' it! Groan.

Badum Tish!

Thank you very much, we're here all week.

Try the fish!

 

[removed account4]

neutralize it ( as PE suggests), and since you can't
remove the carpet ... blot-wash it with clean water and a sponge
and then wick up the clean water with a shamwow, or paper towels or
blow dry it on a cool setting ...

hopefully it didn't seep down into the apt below you ...
it takes less than about a cup of liquid to seep down through the floor,
to stain the ceiling of the floor below you ...

 

[ghost]

ShamWow!

A coupla hits of whatever the "Shamwow" guy is on....


....and you won't care about the carpet anymore!

 

[BobNewYork]

You do not want to get developer residue into a wet carpet cleaner. Many parts are aluminum and the alkali in the wet carpet cleaner will seriously damage them. I would first neutralize the alkali with dilute acid such as vinegar or citric acid. Actually though getting the chemicals into the works would not be a good idea anyhow come to think of it. The best thing would be to lift the carpet, wash it out and either dry it and relay it or discard it.

Why wash it before discarding it? You don't want anyone touching it with the chemistry on it.

PE

RENT the carpet cleaner

Bob H

 

[DJGainer]

Will 500ml of developer (either diluted with water/acid or not) severely damage the carpet cleaner's parts? I'd think a commercial device that is (supposedly) regularly serviced should be fine.

 

[Alexander Ghaffari]

Will 500ml of developer (either diluted with water/acid or not) severely damage the carpet cleaner's parts? I'd think a commercial device that is (supposedly) regularly serviced should be fine.

Seriously...humankind has the ability to transmute inferior metals into gold, so you think that we could invent a device for cleaning up a non-neutral pH spill!

I just wish it was commercially viable to transmute cheaper elements into gold...or, heck, platinum while we are at it...anyone have a simple fission reactor that is going to waste?

 

[clayne]

Hit it with stop-bath and then clean up as normal. I think this is less of an issue than people are making it out to be. It's not like you spilled 20w50 Castrol in the living room.