Portable electric room heater

[Drew Wiley]

Steve - Normally October is the driest hottest month of the year here on the Bay. With the big industrial air cleaner running, I'd first wipe down the Formica countertop with a clean microfiber cloth to humidify things a bit before handling unexposed film, or I might get a little lighting-like static mark using a registration punch. But this year ... Gosh, had six inches of rain over about 18 hrs just two days ago. It's possible to buy actual anti-static Formica soaked in silver nitrate, but it's damn expensive. There are also grounded gloves available from cleanroom houses that cater to the local electronics tech industry. I have air ionizers and an antistatic air gun on hand if needed, but rarely bother with them.

I don't like the idea of humidifiers in the film room or around my high-end enlargers and lenses. There are simpler solutions, and by doing certain tasks just certain months helps quite a bit. Normally I'd be doing a lot of drymounting in Nov and Dec while things cool down but aren't very wet yet, but this year is tuning out odd. But our drought needs all the rain we can get.

[JMO]

Firstly, the one you likely already have, and might not have considered: a sweater or hoodie. Costs nothing to add, can easily be stored away in warmer months, and doesn't impact your electric bill until you need to launder it :P
Appropriately sized base layers can help too, and those can be used while out shooting in cooler weather as well
I've used the "dish" heaters sold at many big box retailers during winter months. I don't leave them on for long, just enough to warm a space to 65-70F and then turn it off. You can set them up on a timer as well, some even have this feature straight from the factory now.

Dan, I’m with you about keeping oneself warm in chilly darkrooms - clothing layers. The other important thing to keep at temperature when making prints are the chemical trays. For this, some of us in the Upper Midwest rely on pig warmer heating pads (which I have discussed in other threads). It may be 55-60F in my basement darkroom during most of the year, but my trays are always at 21C.

[LabRat]

Steve - Normally October is the driest hottest month of the year here on the Bay. With the big industrial air cleaner running, I'd first wipe down the Formica countertop with a clean microfiber cloth to humidify things a bit before handling unexposed film, or I might get a little lighting-like static mark using a registration punch. But this year ... Gosh, had six inches of rain over about 18 hrs just two days ago. It's possible to buy actual anti-static Formica soaked in silver nitrate, but it's damn expensive. There are also grounded gloves available from cleanroom houses that cater to the local electronics tech industry. I have air ionizers and an antistatic air gun on hand if needed, but rarely bother with them.

I don't like the idea of humidifiers in the film room or around my high-end enlargers and lenses. There are simpler solutions, and by doing certain tasks just certain months helps quite a bit. Normally I'd be doing a lot of drymounting in Nov and Dec while things cool down but aren't very wet yet, but this year is tuning out odd. But our drought needs all the rain we can get.

Yea, we missed the weather bullet in SoCal yesterday with light to medium rain... Concern about the rain up north, so hoping for the best...

Normally have 30 to 70% RH, but have had 1-2% humidity spells where leaving a roll film strip on the counter turns it into a drinking straw and fingers seem to spot weld to everything... I remember growing up in the east when winter dryness + heating was like a personal lightning generator, at least up in the bay + coast the "killer fog" keeps the static at bay...

Don't usually humidify the lab, but have taken measures when humidity was really low... Also have bench surplus static control generators that help...

Usually have a humidifier in the bedroom for dry winter nights to keep the sinuses from drying out, but understand one might need a dehumidifier in the lab with a lot of sea air moving around...

Steve K

[Tin Can]

Humidity slows dust

I have a SS cabinet for lenses in shooting studio

[Drew Wiley]

Well ... rain. Just two days after it here, the hills have gone from totally brown to large areas of green everywhere. Amazing how fast the change happens. I hate hot humidity. It's rare here.