ALL POINTS BULLETIN... Apparently I've been party rocking my darkroom (Parents basement) too hard and now the septic system is backing up and poops be coming up. I'm washing my negatives for like 12 minutes, and I do it 3-4 times a day, my dad (a water engineer by the way) has banned me from developing, I got a back up sink right now but long term what can I do to cut down on my water consumption? I don't think its the silver in the fix, I dump it once or twice a month at the most. Any ideas?
Also I know septic+silver=bad news but I've been doing this for like 3 years no problem.
You do not need to use running water to wash negs and prints -- use standing water and exchange it with fresh. Take the used water outside and water the garden.
I heard that works for prints, never heard that about negs, good to know. Thanks for getting back to me Vaughn.
Also, sorry if this has been asked before a million times, but I just got back from a fight with the crapper, and i have no time to be an internet detective at the moment.
Your septic tank is full and needs to be pumped. You are also likely putting more water into it than can flow into the leech field, so the brown trout are going upstream to spawn.
Vaughn's suggestion is a good one. Not only will this reduce the load on your septic system, you'll be saving a lot of water.
--P
Preston-Columbia CA
"If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."
If you can avoid dumping your used fixer down the drain, do so. I keep mine in two 5 gallon buckets and let them evaporate. I got a silvery recovery thing to extract the silver, but I haven't used it yet. As long as the water evaporates, it's just making room for more spent fixer. The silver is still in the buckets waiting for me to remove and cash in.
yes, it's the water VOLUME hat is causing the back-up. The water has to go somewhere. The leach field can't get rid of the water at the rate you are putting it in.Your septic tank is full and needs to be pumped. You are also likely putting more water into it than can flow into the leech field, so the brown trout are going upstream to spawn.
Back in the day Leica/Leitz published a recommendation that prints can be washed to archival standards by sequentially washing them in 3 separate baths of still water for 30 minutes in each bath. I don't know any other details, but the essence is that it shouldn't take zillions of gallons of water to wash prints.
john
does your tank back up when you run the clothes or dish washer, or when someone takes a shower/bath?
... running water to wash film or prints is less than taking a shower for 10-15mins ...
it might be good to have the tank pumped out and see if / when it backs up again ...
good luck !
john
Just a note not to leave the prints in water for too long or they fall apart.
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