Film Drying, Best Practices

[Kirk Gittings]

Sales of large prints have led me to greater care with drying my 4x5 negs-dust is always a big problem in the SW. I'm curious about peoples approach to this. I've added a HEPA filtration system to my drying closet. I'm figuring on blowing clean air into it for a few minutes, letting everything settle then hang my film in the still clean air. I'm not in a hurry so I don't need to blow dry air in when they are hanging. I have also heard of people misting their drying cabinet down with filtered water and letting that settle. What do people do who live in extremely dusty environments like the SW?

[David Lobato]

I was wondering about room ionizers, and found this.
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?68224-has-any-one-used-a-negative-ioniser-to-control-dust

[Daniel Stone]

Kirk,

While I might not be in as dry a climate as you, I've found that NOT running any forced air always gives me cleaner negatives in the end. I simply let them hang to dry(using Photo Flo, or your chosen wetting agent). I DO NOT squeegee the film, I actually prefer to hang it up while it is still dripping water like crazy, as gravity will 'pull' any particulate down(and hopefully off, with the drips) the length of the film.

Sheet film I clip in the corner, so the water drains to 1 corner. Roll film I weight down with pegs/clips, and once the film has finished dripping, I take a paper towel, and gently wick the residual bead/droplet(with sheet film) off the corner/bottom of the film. I do not touch the bead of water with the towl, capillary action will cause the bead of water to suck into the towel itself.
I've done it this way for almost 10 years now, and I've always had perfect negatives. Using forced/heated air, I always encountered embedded dirt/dust in/on the film.
Takes a little longer this way, but I am basically ensured to have clean, dust-free negatives.

I hang my film up using a clothesline, length-wise in the shower/tub, so the drips will go down the drain.
BEFORE I hang the film to dry, I run the shower full-blast on HOT, and close the door so it will get somewhat steamy in the bathroom. I turn off the shower, let the steam hang about for a bit(5-10mins or so), so any dust in the air will get grabbed by the airborne steam and fall to the ground. I then proceed to hang the film up as fast as possible.
I purchased my retractable clothesline at Ikea, but it's almost identical to this one here: https://amzn.com/B01EA9CVGM

-Dan

[Kirk Gittings]

Yeah that won't work for me for reasons too long to go into-can't use the showers.

[Ari]

I bought a film drying cabinet for a song, it looks like an old phone booth.
I heat up the cabinet for a few minutes, then hang the film to dry in the warmth after a bath in Edwal.
Every month I wipe down the inside, and haven't had any dust problems from that end of things.
I do have water issues, in that I'm not filtering the water I use for washing, so a final rinse in distilled water and Edwal helps.

[StoneNYC]

Kirk,

I'm going to second the "I steam up my bathroom before hanging my film" sentient.

I've also found that this method of the steam enveloping the dust particles and then drags them to the ground, works best.

Since you have a cabinet instead, what about getting a steamer (like an iron for ironing your clothes, but they make "wands" that are for hanging clothes) you could "wand" the inside of the drying cabinet before you hang everything, this would at least help pull some more dust out of the air?

Pre-steaming the room/cabinet really is the best solution IMO.

Hope maybe you can utilize this concept in a way that works for your situation.

[Pere Casals]

I solved the dust problem with a Honeywell 16200 HEPA purifier. If solves film drying and scanning

This has a powerful flow that cleans a small room in minutes. Smaller purifiers are too slow.

Anyway our dress can emit tons of dust, so it is important to wear an overalls that it is not prone to emit dust.

Another good practice is to use some distilled water+humectant form final rinse, I use 50cc per sheet.

[Bruce Watson]

Sales of large prints have led me to greater care with drying my 4x5 negs...

Are you sure that drying is your problem? I'm asking because I thought that too and tackled drying with a vengeance. Yet, my spots problem didn't improve much. Turned out that every step in my process added it's own special bits of dirt. In the end I had pretty clean negatives, but drying was just a small part of the overall solution for me.

[Kirk Gittings]

Are you sure that drying is your problem? I'm asking because I thought that too and tackled drying with a vengeance. Yet, my spots problem didn't improve much. Turned out that every step in my process added it's own special bits of dirt. In the end I had pretty clean negatives, but drying was just a small part of the overall solution for me.

Thanks. Yes I'm pretty sure it is air born dust as I have inline filters for all the water I use plus distilled for final rinse.

[Tin Can]

I use Honeywell 50250 floor canister HEPA filter. It does serious work. I put it under a darkroom sink and in winter add a big wick type humidifier.

Previously I was running something fancier 3 times the size, but filters were too expensive. It had 4 filters and cost $500 to change them. And my daughter had a bad mold problem in her old house. So they bought filters for it.

My father ran Honeywell whole house Electrostatic filters for 50 years. He worked for Honeywell. Round thermostat man.

I was amazed at his last house which ran one for 10 years. All time he lived there. When we cleaned out the unfinished, concrete floor basement, nothing was dusty and nothing has been cleaned ever on the open shelf storage. No dust!

He had bad allergies and needed the best air filtration made.

Even the boxes of 50-60's slides were dust free in 2003.

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk,

I'm going to second the "I steam up my bathroom before hanging my film" sentient.

I've also found that this method of the steam enveloping the dust particles and then drags them to the ground, works best.

Since you have a cabinet instead, what about getting a steamer (like an iron for ironing your clothes, but they make "wands" that are for hanging clothes) you could "wand" the inside of the drying cabinet before you hang everything, this would at least help pull some more dust out of the air?

Pre-steaming the room/cabinet really is the best solution IMO.

Hope maybe you can utilize this concept in a way that works for your situation.

Interesting idea-a hand held clothes steamer. That is worth trying I think.

[Willie]

Second on using a steamer with a drying cabinet. First run the HEPA filter for the room it is in so you don't stir up much dust putting the negatives inside. Use the steamer inside for a minute or two so you have a steam cloud. Hang the negatives out of the foto-flo in the steamy air and close it. A few hours to a day later you should have dry, clean negatives. Having a cabinet that is a bit oversized is a plus so you don't have to move around too much while hanging the negs.

Got onto the steam cabinet after using the tub and shower in an enclosed bathroom for awhile. Somehow kids don't understand not being able to use the bathroom because of negatives hanging in the shower.

Since going to the steamer/shower steam system I have never had problems from airborne dust - just waterborne at times even with a 5 micron double water filter.

[StoneNYC]

Interesting idea-a hand held clothes steamer. That is worth trying I think.

Hope it works.

They have handheld ones that range from $40-$75 like this one.

http://m.kohls.com/product/prd-2016809/mcculloch-handheld-steam-cleaner.jsp?ci_mcc=ci&utm_campaign=FLOOR%20CARE&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=98652172&CID=shopping15&gclid=COrLgvDSvs4CFVFahgodK-MP2Q&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CNCei_DSvs4CFZZCNwodO0MBkw

But you might find them weak, might want to go a little more for one in the $150 range like this.

http://www.target.com/p/mcculloch-heavy-duty-steam-cleaner-mc1275/-/A-10334314?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Appliances%2BShopping&adgroup=SC_Appliances&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=m&location=9003344&gclid=CMzHsJ3Tvs4CFcNahgodTV0L8A&gclsrc=aw.ds

I've no practical experience with either, except that when working in the movie industry, the wardrobe people preferred the kind with the hose attachment as they were a bit more powerful. Film and clothing is not the same of course, but the hose type may produce more steam, not sure.

Good luck!

[Kirk Gittings]

Can anyone recommend a small hand held steamer? I only need it for this purpose-rather not spend $150 unless I can help it.

[Doremus Scudder]

When I use a bathroom for negative development (my set-up in Europe), I vacuum, mop and wipe down all the floors and walls about an hour before processing, then (as Stone and others) run the hot water to steam the room up. After things have settled down, I process. Drying is done on a retractable clothesline over the tub. Sheet film gets a final rinse in distilled water and PhotoFlo, then gets gently squeegeed through clean index and middle fingers (two swipes to get the whole surface) and hung by a corner to dry. I rarely have dust with this set-up.

In the States I have a new dedicated darkroom. The door is sealed and light tight, a ventilation system collects air from along the back edge of the sink and exhausts it to outside. Intake air is through two 12"x12" light-tight vents that are filtered, so, except for me going in and out, the only air that comes in is filtered. After a good mop and wipe-down, I don't have much of a dust problem at all. Still, when developing negs, I run the hot water and steam up the whole 10-foot-square room a bit. Film gets the same treatment as above and is hung on a retractable clothesline over the sink. Again, rarely a dust problem.

I think there are a couple of key practices here: first, don't stir things up immediately before processing (my cleaning and wipe-downs are always at least an hour before processing and I never sweep; that just stirs up dust). And try to keep dust and dirt out of your processing area. Second, raise the humidity in the drying environment before processing to settle airborne dust. Third, if you can swing it, some kind of filtration can only improve the situation. However, if there's lots of airflow, I'd turn it off some time before processing film.

If I were you, I'd look for low-hanging fruit in this basket and see what you can easily do right away. Try it and see if it solves your problem. If not, you can take more drastic measures.

As for dust on negatives during enlarging: I've found that a soft camel's hair brush can really help. For the most stubborn, glued-on specks I'll resort to a micro-fiber cloth or even a scalpel point under 10x magnification to dislodge the dust (I don't touch the neg, just the dust).

Also, it's amazing to me how much dust gets on the negative when enlarging, even in the fairly clean environment I've described. I check in glancing light and blow or brush the visible specks away. Then I check the negative again as it's sitting in the carrier with the enlarger light on. It's amazing how often I have to remove and re-clean the neg. Sometimes dust will settle on the neg between prints and I'll have to clean again. Extra care at this stage of the game helps minimize spotting.

Best,

Doremus

[Kirk Gittings]

Randy why do you say "cold steam for my climate".

[Tin Can]

Randy why do you say "cold steam for my climate".

I thought it was hot. If not, you could use a vaporizer, humidifier, or a hot plate and tea kettle.

[Bruce Watson]

Thanks. Yes I'm pretty sure it is air born dust as I have inline filters for all the water I use plus distilled for final rinse.

Well, there was more to it than just water treatment for me. I found a nice decrease in spots from going to one-shot developer use. But the biggest gain was from something no one talks about. And that was from moving to one-shot fixer. Probably 30 percent of my spots were tiny metallic silver deposits and other junk from reusing fixer (I had thought all the process induced crud washed off the film, but challenging preconceived notions is why we run experiments). Now I just mix fixer from concentrate when I need it (no stock solution), use it, and into the bucket.

I can hear you laughing from here. I thought it was crazy myself. But... it's reproducible for me.

One of the other things that really helped, was cleaning the ceiling. Dust sticks to ceilings and walls. At least until the charges equalize...

When my entire darkroom was spotless, and I used one-shot chemistry end to end, and all water (any that touched my film or my Jobo 3010 tank, so all developer and fixer makeup water, and all rinse water, even cleanup water) was steam distilled (I got it down to about six liters / 10 5x4 sheets, or about $1.5 USD, which beats the heck out of couple of hours spotting), I was able to knock down my dust problem by better than 90%. But I've never gotten it to zero -- I've pulled some seriously clean sheets, but not quite perfect. Yet.

But since you're asking only about drying, I found that cleaning my darkroom to near spotlessness, and running an electrostatic airfilter 24/7, sealing it up (door, light switches, outlets, etc.), basically turning it into a giant film drying cabinet, made about a 20% improvement for me. That's when I started working on the rest of the process.

Replacing my 10 micron in-line filtered water with steam distilled was good for another 5%, maybe as much as 10%. And I've got excellent city water here -- if you drink bottled water under the Aquafina name, it could be right out of the city of Raleigh treatment plant. But the pipes that water runs through to get to my house... some are at least 60 years old now.

As you increase your enlargement size, you decrease the size of the spots on your negative that are visible in the final print. I'm just saying that a 12x enlargement shows some amazingly small negative spots.

This is what you're up against. Think of it as a challenge. :rolleyes:

[Daniel Stone]

I never pour fixer(only used 2x if doing another run right after the first, otherwise it gets tossed) straight back into the bottle. I use those single-shot coffee filters to filter our particulate.

I use distilled water to mix developer, final rinse(color) & photo flo(bw). Regular wash water is straight out of the tap.

-Dan

[Kirk Gittings]

Well, there was more to it than just water treatment for me. I found a nice decrease in spots from going to one-shot developer use. But the biggest gain was from something no one talks about. And that was from moving to one-shot fixer. Probably 30 percent of my spots were tiny metallic silver deposits and other junk from reusing fixer (I had thought all the process induced crud washed off the film, but challenging preconceived notions is why we run experiments). Now I just mix fixer from concentrate when I need it (no stock solution), use it, and into the bucket.

I can hear you laughing from here. I thought it was crazy myself. But... it's reproducible for me.

One of the other things that really helped, was cleaning the ceiling. Dust sticks to ceilings and walls. At least until the charges equalize...

When my entire darkroom was spotless, and I used one-shot chemistry end to end, and all water (any that touched my film or my Jobo 3010 tank, so all developer and fixer makeup water, and all rinse water, even cleanup water) was steam distilled (I got it down to about six liters / 10 5x4 sheets, or about $1.5 USD, which beats the heck out of couple of hours spotting), I was able to knock down my dust problem by better than 90%. But I've never gotten it to zero -- I've pulled some seriously clean sheets, but not quite perfect. Yet.

But since you're asking only about drying, I found that cleaning my darkroom to near spotlessness, and running an electrostatic airfilter 24/7, sealing it up (door, light switches, outlets, etc.), basically turning it into a giant film drying cabinet, made about a 20% improvement for me. That's when I started working on the rest of the process.

Replacing my 10 micron in-line filtered water with steam distilled was good for another 5%, maybe as much as 10%. And I've got excellent city water here -- if you drink bottled water under the Aquafina name, it could be right out of the city of Raleigh treatment plant. But the pipes that water runs through to get to my house... some are at least 60 years old now.

As you increase your enlargement size, you decrease the size of the spots on your negative that are visible in the final print. I'm just saying that a 12x enlargement shows some amazingly small negative spots.

This is what you're up against. Think of it as a challenge. :rolleyes:

Interesting. I do use one shot developer (D-23 or Pyrocat)-in distilled water, no stop-just distilled water, but I do reuse fixer-one session only.

[Kirk Gittings]

And FWIW guys. My main problem is just good old fashioned, boring, airborne dust. I know this because I have been testing it on blank processed film from a lab. The film comes to me super clean. I rewet it, put photoflow on it and hang it. When I get that solved, I'll tackle other bad guys. I like to take one problem with one possible solution at a time. That way I can have some confidence that a particular solution is working or not.

[LabRat]

Sludge in the chems or system are a strong possibility... You can often tell the difference as drying dust tends to sit on/near the surface of the drying film (with linty shapes), but after close examination in reflected (off the surface light), drying dust will be seen as a texture... If no texture, that means that it was absorbed into the emulsion while it was fully swelled (most swelled during development, less during the other steps)...

Filtering solutions before AND after use helps (I use coffee filters like Daniel), but the biggest emitter is wash water... Replace filters frequently as they build up sludge and will pass some eventually, and multiple filters on the water line close to the tap help... But there is sludge that will pass through filters and build up usually close to the wash tank water feed area, and even multiple filters can trap most, but not all of it... (I know this from using a print washer that was double filtered in a bad water system area, and one corner of a print (near the feed) would stain a very light brown after prolonged washed probably from a build-up of microscopic rust, that was built-up in the first filter... (I have removed handfuls of sand & rust from inside filter housings when the water department was doing pipe construction or when someone hit a fire hydrant with a car in the area...) Switching to a ultra-fine filter element introduced new problems, as it seemed that the ultra-fine started knocking chlorine and dissolved air out of solution, making fizzy and milky wash water (with a strong chlorine smell)... Also, this time of year water supplies are lower, so one is using the lower levels of the supply (where the sludge settles)... Then there's the algae bloom in SW water supplies that can leave anything from a pinhead to an overall scum sheeting over material (clean always filled washing tanks frequently with a little light scrubbing with a diluted bleach solution and wash VERY well)... And rinse film with a med. running water water hose one by one while in final wash...

Another modern problem is, it seems that film is cut after it is coated, and not all cuts are clean and there can be debris from it... (I didn't know where the fine specks around the edge area came from, until recently I processed a sheet that had the punched out code notch still hanging on the notch, with specks around the area...) And sometimes sheets would bind at the edges while loading holders, due to roughness of the edges... I never did before, but now tap/rap each sheet on the clean counter several times before loading, while allowing the sheet edges to move up my fingers while tapping to burnish the edges (has helped a lot)...

The cabinet can be wiped down clean with a lint-free cloth and a spray bottle of water... The bottom will be the dirt collection point, so make a tray that can be removed and washed in the sink from time to time... Any kind of fan inside will move dust instead of letting it settle... Filters on fans will build up dust and release it over time... It seems that for drying on damp, soggy nights, that the better heater for a cabinet is just a 150W light bulb below that will provide a gentle rise of heat... In the SW during dry spells, film can overdry (35MM strips can roll themselves into long, fat straws), so leaving a damp towel inside will raise the humidity so the film can dry normally, and such film can be re-hydrated by hanging it in a damper place for awhile... But the best way to dry film is allowing it to dry at without heat for as long as it needs, well after the sticky stage...

Take time to go through the entire system, and repeat frequently...

Steve K

[StoneNYC]

FWIW I reuse my fixer multiple times until the fixer check stuff turns white.

I use chlorinated water from the tap that IS filtered but it's just a filter under the sink for normal drinking water that hasn't been changed in 3+ years.

None of that ever caused a problem.

I reuse my stop and hypo-clear too.

I have city water that's supposed to be some of the best in the country (not sure what qualifiers they are using). So I'm sure that helps. I don't have well water or anything.

[CedarMesaPhoto]

I was using the Photo Flo bottle cap to measure it out, and then found out the paper gasket seal in the cap was falling apart and getting lots of pieces in the liquid. I changed bottles and now it is all clean. Photo Flo seems to erode paper since it will mess up its label if it gets on the bottle. You might try wetting a lab neg in distilled and forego the Photo Flo and see what happens. My cleanest 120 rolls are from a double dunk in distilled and then just hung up when I was sorting out the bottle cap issue. Chris

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[LabRat]

Oh, and let me add another unexpected dust source I had... I had a photo-flo bath that had dust floating on the surface of it, that I traced to a bottle with distilled water that had a little bit of dust on it, that when I poured it, dust on the outside of the bottle must have fallen off it and into the solution... So I now rinse all bottles before use...

Steve K

[Kirk Gittings]

I was using the Photo Flo bottle cap to measure it out, and then found out the paper gasket seal in the cap was falling apart and getting lots of pieces in the liquid. I changed bottles and now it is all clean. Photo Flo seems to erode paper since it will mess up its label if it gets on the bottle. You might try wetting a lab neg in distilled and forego the Photo Flo and see what happens. My cleanest 120 rolls are from a double dunk in distilled and then just hung up when I was sorting out the bottle cap issue. Chris

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

I transfer the PF to a chemistry grade eye dropper and bottle. I only measure out drops for what I need and don't reuse it.

[Bob Sawin]

Kirk...would a vaporizer, such as used with Vick's Vaporub, work? You could pick one up at a drug store for $20 or so.


Best regards,

Bob
CEO CFO EIEIO, Ret.

[Kirk Gittings]

I don't know I just ordered a facial steamer. I'll see how that works.

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk...would a vaporizer, such as used with Vick's Vaporub, work? You could pick one up at a drug store for $20 or so.


Best regards,

Bob
CEO CFO EIEIO, Ret.

The ones I have or have seen are too large for my cabinet-at least how mine is configured.

[DougD]

I echo the call for some humidity in the drying cabinet. A pan filled with water (with a screen over it, so if film falls, it doesn't fall in), or even try misting the interior of the cabinet just prior to putting the film in.

D.

[jnantz]

kirk

home despot / loowes
sell suncast closets that have shelves and twin doors.
i removed the shelves and put framers wire across
and use clothes pins and have had dust problems
i used to have/use a metal closet ( like sold at office stores )
that worked great, when i moved i had to use something else ..

[SergeiR]

Much like Ari and after having terrible issues with dust in my old apartment i ended up with film drying cabinet locally - i think i paid 40$ for mine. Added air filter to it that i occasionally change and dropped paper towels on the bottom, so when things drip they also work as humidifer/dust catchers - helped a LOT.... And added bonus is that it has forced air of regulated temperature, so drying went from hours to like 15-30 minutes.

[Michael Graves]

That is one problem with using larger drying cabinets. I have a California Stainless cabinet and it does pretty most of the time, but if the air gets too dry I do occasionally get dust. If you can justify the expense, they make a smaller version here (http://sebastiandarkroom.com/darkroom_products.php) that is just for small batches of sheet film.

[jeroldharter]

I would be cautious about adding an electrical device to the problem chain (steamer). Maybe just a pan of distilled water in the bottom of a drying cabinet. I used an Arkay film drying cabinet with a filter in the top, no forced air, photoflo. We have very dry winters and never dust issues.

[Jim Michael]

My wife has several customers who shoot film (she's a fine art printer here in Atlanta) and we had a hell of a time finding a good lab to recommend because every lab we sent film to returned it with embedded dust. As a former lab rat I could tell the maintenance on the film equipment was being neglected, most likely either not using filtration in the drying stage or not cleaning the filters. We finally found a great resource to use - Edgar Praus. Perhaps he might chime in and offer a couple of tips. Kirk, the fact that you are using filtration in your drying cabinet and still getting dust means the air is not getting cleaned or there is already dust in the cabinet. The drying cabinets we used had forced heated and filtered air. The longer it hangs there wet the longer it has to pick up what's floating around.

[StoneNYC]

My wife has several customers who shoot film (she's a fine art printer here in Atlanta) and we had a hell of a time finding a good lab to recommend because every lab we sent film to returned it with embedded dust. As a former lab rat I could tell the maintenance on the film equipment was being neglected, most likely either not using filtration in the drying stage or not cleaning the filters. We finally found a great resource to use - Edgar Praus. Perhaps he might chime in and offer a couple of tips. Kirk, the fact that you are using filtration in your drying cabinet and still getting dust means the air is not getting cleaned or there is already dust in the cabinet. The drying cabinets we used had forced heated and filtered air. The longer it hangs there wet the longer it has to pick up what's floating around.

I'll second Edgar, excellent service and no dust, can't hurt to call him and ask.

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk, the fact that you are using filtration in your drying cabinet and still getting dust means the air is not getting cleaned or there is already dust in the cabinet. The drying cabinets we used had forced heated and filtered air. The longer it hangs there wet the longer it has to pick up what's floating around.

You didn't read my post carefully. I never said I added a HEPA filter and was still getting dust. I haven't run any film yet since adding it. I was asking now that I have added it, what else might I do to minimize dust.


I've added a HEPA filtration system to my drying closet. I'm figuring on blowing clean air into it for a few minutes, letting everything settle then hang my film in the still clean air. I'm not in a hurry so I don't need to blow dry air in when they are hanging. I have also heard of people misting their drying cabinet down with filtered water and letting that settle. What do people do who live in extremely dusty environments like the SW?

[tgtaylor]

I have an Arkad CD-10 w/filter but seldom run the unit to dry film. Usually I hang the sheets (4x5, 5x7, and 8x10) in it to air dry - takes about 4 hours - and have never had dust settle on the film. 120 and 135 strips are too large for the dryer (unless I cut them down to size). Instead I squeeze them and hang from the ceiling heater in the bathroom and close the door. Again it takes about 4 hours for them to dry and if I have to use the bathroom during that time I simply maneuver around them. Dust has never settled on the strips.

Thomas

[Kirk Gittings]

American West Getting Dustier, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130612-united-states-west-science-dust-storms-environment/

[Hans Berkhout]

Off topic but: why do you need Photo flo?

Distilled water mist from spray bottle to front and back of washed negative while holding it with alligator clip on corner. Very dry climate but negs hang to dry over my still wet 8 ft darkroom sink. No dust

problem.

[Kirk Gittings]

Ok so my tests are in and wow what an improvement. This is just a guesstimate but I'm looking at a reduction of maybe some 90% and maybe more. That's on looking at a 200MB scan at 100%.

So what did I do? This is with the addition of a Sears hepa filter (free-just put in new filters) and a facial steamer ($20). My MO is to run filter for about 20 minutes on low, turn it off and run the facial steamer. When that finished hang the film, keeping the film tray within a foot or so of the cabinet.

Thanks all for the tips and advice. I think the steam idea made a real difference.

[StoneNYC]

Ok so my tests are in and wow what an improvement. This is just a guesstimate but I'm looking at a reduction of maybe some 90% and maybe more. That's on looking at a 200MB scan at 100%.

So what did I do? This is with the addition of a Sears hepa filter (free-just put in new filters) and a facial steamer ($20). My MO is to run filter for about 20 minutes on low, turn it off and run the facial steamer. When that finished hang the film, keeping the film tray within a foot or so of the cabinet.

Thanks all for the tips and advice. I think the steam idea made a real difference.

Glad it worked for you Kirk. Hurrah!