Distilled water, any use in darkroom?

[brian steinberger]

I've been using distilled water for pre-soaking films, as well as diluting developers for paper and film, as well as with photo-flo because that's what I've been taught. Does using distilled water in the darkroom really make a difference as opposed to using regular tap water? I don't have a water filtration system, or softener.

[paulr]

distilled water makes a big difference if you use it as your final rinse (with photo flo) ... it eliminates mineral spots.

it's often a good idea to use for mixing up your developer, at least if you live in a place with funky water. i use it for film developer just for good measure, though i doubt it's all that important.

it's important to use in certain toners and other kinds of formulas that are sensitive to impurities. nelson gold toner, for example, is damaged by chlorine.

[Henry Ambrose]

The real answer probably depends on your particular water supply - you might get by fine without it. But I have pretty good water here and I still use RO water for mixing stock chemicals, diluting developer and for the Photoflo rinse.

[Oren Grad]

Depends on your water, and on what chemicals you're using. I use tap water for everything, and it works fine. I do have filters for particulates on the water lines coming in to the darkroom, to keep things reasonably clean.

[John Kasaian]

I use distilled water for chemicals and final rinse, but the water here is pretty cruddy these days. I think it make enough of a difference to use the stuff at least for mixing stock solutions and the final rinse.

[Terence Spross]

A few years ago I saw a pro (probably from NYC) and an assistant arguing about creek water on the side of the road as they were in the Adirondaks and needed to process on site to meet a deadline, it was obvious the pro was more than concerned, he was almost raving on and on like a lunatic saying the creek water could ruin everything, wondering how he had accepted such an assignment, never would go into the "jungle" again. How he hated sleeping in a camper. His laid back assistant, a seasoned camper prevailed and mixed the chemistry and processed the film. A while later I walked by again and the pro is delighted looking at his negatives and almost jumping up and down, explaining how great life is, how great they turned out, etc. This real life sit-com is etched in my memory.

[Nick_3536]

I only use distilled for final photo-flo in B&W and for mixing colour chemicals. Seems colour chemicals keep longer when mixed with distilled.

[Nick Morris]

Hello. I use distilled water to mix all my chemicals (B&W) and filtered water to wash film and prints.

[John Sarsgard]

I use distilled only for final wash of film, and everything works fine. I would start with that, since the volume of water is low, and mineral spots on your film are VERY hard to remove. Spotting prints is the least entertaining activity I know of, other than washing windows. I am living with negatives now with these spots, and I've long since started washing with distilled water. If anything else seems quirky, changing to distilled water is one of the things to try.

[Mike Chini]

Using distilled water made a big difference for me with smaller format films. For 4x5 and up, I use 1/2 distilled for my first rinse and stop and 100 % distilled water for all mixing solutions. I buy the America's Choice stuff for $.70 a gallon at local stores rather than the 'name brand' distilled water.