Washaid concentrate life?

My guess is that the sink filter probably just filters out grit. $13.40 for 5# is not a bad price in today's economy.

OK, so we have established what chemicals we need to use.

How long should each print sit in it for and what is a good starting point for a wash time after?

hoffy said:

OK, so we have established what chemicals we need to use.

How long should each print sit in it for and what is a good starting point for a wash time after?

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There are differing recommendations on this: Kodak recommends using HCA for three minutes for double-weight fiber-base papers. Ilford recommends 10 minutes for its Wash Aid. Keep in mind that the exact procedure and wash times are different as well with these recommendations. I tend to err on the side of longer. You need to find a process/work flow that works for you.

Hoffy, you really need to start doing some of this research yourself. Both Kodak and Ilford have extensive technical publications that, with a little time spent reading, will answer all your questions. Try Google-searching for "Ilford Wash Aid pdf" and "Kodak Chemicals for Black and White Papers" and see what you get

Best,

Doremus

I understand that, but those times are for their own respective products, as you have already indicated. I have read the PDF's and there is a 3x difference in stated times.

I'll err on the side of 10 minutes.

Gerald C Koch said:

Certainly. sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium tetraphosphate. Not quite as good as sodium hexametaphosphate but easier to obtain under today's restrictions. The Chemistry Store sells one of these but I don't remember which.

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Sorry, i am having a hard time back-tracking the recipe.
Does this take the place of Sodium Bisulfite, or are all 3 chemicals needed in areas with hard water.?
Thank You

Got It...Thank You.
After having a decent filter installed at my darkroom faucet, i am trying to go without distilled and see how it works. The distilled is affordable, just trying to avoid storing another container/product.
Thanks Again

Gerald C Koch said:

Not a particularly good idea as used fixer contains silver. This book was written when the toxicity of some substances was poorly understood. The buildup of silver in the body causes a condition called argyria. While silver is not particularly toxic as heavy metals go argyria causes the skin to turn blue. The amount needed to cause the condition is very small perhaps a few milligrams. The effect is cumulative and cannot be reversed. If you google on argyria you will find several sample photographs depicting the condition. Unless you want to look like one of the walking dead forget about tasting your prints.

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And printing papers used to include other heavy metals including cadmium.

There are several formulas out there for a wash aid. If you want to first make a stock solution and then dilute from stock for a working solution I have tried the Darkroom Cookbook formula. It contains 200 grams of sodium sulfite and 50 grams of sodium bisulfate, but if you divide the formula by ten you can make a liter of working solution (go figure). Anchell also suggests that the bisulfite can be eliminated for better gloss when treating FB prints. So that's 20 grams of sodium sulfite per liter of working solution, Anchell's teaspoon conversion for sodium sulfite says that's 2.5 (and a tiny fraction) teaspoons per liter. 5.5 grams of sodium bisulfite is also a teaspoon. Calgon is usually added (if needed) at the rate of 1-3 grams per liter (0.1 to 0.3%). This is one of the few times I'll use spoon measurements instead of grams and whatnot.

Gerald C Koch (of APUG fame) also has a formula for a wash aid which is supposed to be a close approximation of KHCA (use the APUG search to find the formula). His formula is a little bit more complicated and I would mix his as a stock solution and dilute to use.

Either should be fine, it's not rocket science.