How much water do you use in your darkroom?

[Peter De Smidt]

Even better, if you're going to tone FB prints, HE-1, an easy to make Hypo Eliminator, is easy to use. It was discouraged in the 1990s when it was discovered that a small amount of fixer left in the paper helped longevity, but proper toning does that even better. So, I print, single fix, quick rinse with running water, and into the washer with no water running. When I'm done printer, I mix up my toning baths, place the prints in the 2nd fixer, dump and refill the water from the washer, tone, brief hose rinse, he-1, and a short time in the print washer.

[Tin Can]

That's worth repeating!

I will try this!

Even better, if you're going to tone FB prints, HE-1, an easy to make Hypo Eliminator, is easy to use. It was discouraged in the 1990s when it was discovered that a small amount of fixer left in the paper helped longevity, but proper toning does that even better. So, I print, single fix, quick rinse with running water, and into the washer with no water running. When I'm done printer, I mix up my toning baths, place the prints in the 2nd fixer, dump and refill the water from the washer, tone, brief hose rinse, he-1, and a short time in the print washer.

[jp]

I am more curious about water conservation than costs, though of course that is important as well.

If you're in an area that has no risk of running out of water, conservation isn't really a concern. I'm on a well, and when I waste water, it goes back in the ground 150' from where it came from. What I wasted was electricity pumping it and keeping it pressurized. If you pay for sewer, you're paying for electricity and plumbing to get it somewhere to evaporate or get sprayed back on the ground.

[Tin Can]

Water on Earth is finite, but not rare everywhere.

However only 3% is potable.

Ever read 'Dune'?

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/a...l-water-finite

[Corran]

We are on a community well system. If I had the money, and it was possible, I would dig my own well. I assume I could tap into the same source as the community well. Could be wrong, I don't know anything about ground water or water tables.

It certainly does no harm to conserve when possible.

[jim10219]

I don’t conserve water in my darkroom. But I do conserve it everywhere else. Getting a new energy efficient dishwasher and washing machine helped. I also rarely water my lawn. I haven’t watered it in 3 years, and it’s typically greener than my neighbors. The trick is that by not over watering my lawn, the grass has grown deeper roots to find the water it needs. So I spent one year with brown grass while the plants adapted to the change, but now I have a healthier lawn with far less maintenance. I still have to water the potted plants, but they’ll consume less water if you water them after the sun goes down, so they can soak up the water all night long without losing most of it to evaporation.

Most of my neighbors have the automatic sprinkler systems and many of them run them in the heat of the day. Most of that water gets evaporated into the air, so their grass is still dying in the summer and their water bills are sky high. I’ve even had conversations with a few of them about that, but they just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that you can actually have a greener lawn by not watering it. Since the results take a year or two to notice, they give up before they have the chance to see the benefits and claim their lawn is different.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Water on Earth is finite, but not rare everywhere.

However only 3% is potable.

Ever read 'Dune'?

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/a...l-water-finite

Saw the movie. It was confusing! Spice, hmmm

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I think in AZ, especially Phoenix area all water is collected and recycled into drinking water or used on crops or both. We are a big butt desert so water for us is not an option. I rinse as slowly as possible so long as I have running water over the negatives so I don't use that much and I don't develop everyday, maybe every couple of weeks.