jwreed50 Loc: Manassas, VA

I’d like to get back into developing some of my own film. Problem is I’m now on a well water system, and we use a water softener to take some of the hardness out of the water. I’d probably use bottled water to mix the developer but would use the well water for the rest of the process, including washing the film.

Anyone have any experience with this? Should I expect any problems with using well water?

TIA

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

JW, I should think with the water softener you could use the water from your tap. However, the bottled water for mixing chemicals would do well, too. You should do just fine and congratulation on getting back to the occasional use of film. I'd also suggest a final rinse in a mixture of water and Photoflo 2000.

Developing film here in Scottsdale provides hard water. I've never had an issue with chemical mixes with tap water. The Photoflo does a nice job of getting any "hard" stuff off of the film. The I just sponge it, sponge wetted with Photoflo and that's it.

I would advise doing a test roll or two of "not important images" just to test your system.
--Bob

Peterfiore Loc: Where DR goes south

I too have well water with a softener. I have for the past thirty years used the water to mix photo chemicals without issue. But do a test... to make sure.

Votrepear Loc: Sparta MI

At my old house I used softened water with no problem.
I have move to an area that in addition to hard water there is iron in the water. The water softener does a good job with the hardness but there still is enough iron in the water to make mixing chemistry problematic. Now I mix everything up with distilled water.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

It should not affect development, but if the water is hard you are going to get nasty water spotting marks on your negatives.

MrPhotog

You have more issues with well water than hardness. Water softeners neutralize some minerals, but not all. At times, right after regenerating, they also affect the salinity of the water. Some water softeners will reduce iron compounds by adding potassium or manganese.

For the most part you can avoid problems by mixing your developing chemical with distilled water. Then the only time the film is in contact with your well water is during a rinse or final wash.

With black and white processing you’ll use a final wash to remove any remaining fixing agent. Years ago naval photographers at sea found that using salty sea water for the wash bath eliminated hypo from emulsions faster than desalinated water. To avoid any sea salt crystals forming in the emulsion they rinsed the film in a few changes pf fresh water before drying.

I’d suggest you do the same. After using you well water for any wash or rinse dip the film in two or three changes of distilled water before drying.

If the cost seems too high, keep two bottles of ‘used’ distilled water for the final rinses.

Here is the process: You’ll rinse the film three times at the end of your processing. Fill two bottles with fresh distilled water and keep more on hand. First rinse use the bottle from bottle 1. Agitate for a minute and throw that water away It will have the bulk of any bad chemicals. Use water from bottle 2 for the second rinse. That may have a slight contamination, but it can be reused. Pour it back into bottle number one and it can be used for the first rinse next time. For your third rinse use fresh distilled water. After this final agitation pour that into bottle number 2, and use it as the second rinse next time. With this cascade system your final was will be in pure distilled water and the previous rinses will be in water that may have trivial amount of contamination, bit still be able to remove more from the film.

jwreed50 Loc: Manassas, VA

Thanks, guys. This feedback is helpful.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

When I was developing B+W film, Kodak film, Kodak chemicals, usually, I used distilled water which can be obtained quite inexpensively. When I was using tap water and the city in which I lived added Flourine (for teeth) it changed my results.

If I were doing film now I would not even consider using anything but PURE water. The negative is your starting point and while some will see my perfectionism negatively, the facts are simple.

You didn't ask, but the other thing about which I was a perfectionist was temperature and time. I used a calibrated, high quality dial thermometer with a mirrored readout such that parallax was prevented. It's a chemical reaction and as such is sensitive to temperature (AKA energy).

Stop bath and rinsing are less of an issue as long as you use this. It is a "surfactant" IIRC, defeats surface tension and allows a residue-free rinse.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/28195-REG/Kodak_1464510_Photo_Flo_200_Solution.html

jimvanells Loc: Augusta, GA

Another thought is a small but affordable reverse osmosis water filter. The semi-permeable membrane basically provide de-ionized water which is equivalent to distilled water. Folks in FL use them on their sinks for drinking and making coffee. Some of the wells provide good but smelly water and those filters take out everything.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

What I use to do was use Distilled water to mix the developer. The on a final rinse, I would use distilled water again with a bit of fhoto-flow to prevent any mineral spots.The final rinse solution can be reused several times. Your well water should be fine for stop bath, fixer, and washing. Distilled water is not expensive and prevents surprises.

ecurb Loc: Metro Chicago Area

👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Geegee Loc: Peterborough, Ont.

If you notice the wording on some of the bottled water advertisments it will mention that it is mineral water. Mineral water is good drinking water but the presence of minerals makes it hard water. Soft water or distilled water is tasteless and the absence of minerals makes it good for not leaving water spots when it dries.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Hard water contains many minerals that will shorten the life of the developer solutions due to premature oxidation. Oftentimes very hard water causes oversaturation that causes powdered chemicals not to dissolve completely which may necessitate raising the mixing temperature which further shortens the life of the developer. This is especially problematic if you are keeping fairly large quantities of working solution and replenishing it. It's easy to harm the developer even before you use it and diminish some of its important properties.

If you are processing small batches in reel and tank methods, it's best to mix you chemicals with distilled or demineralized water. Hard water may cause washing issues so there are a few strategies to prevent mineral deposits, stains, and other bad reactions that can occur in washing the film. If you do lots of film processing, an in-line filter will help remove certain particles. Wash time can be significantly reduced with the use of a hypo-clearing bath.

One of the most prevalent problems that cause excessive grain and loss of acutance, even in fine-grain emulations, is too much WET TIME and shock. Shock is caused by excessive acidity in the stop bath or fixer- mix theses baths carefully according to directions, Over or too vigorous agitation is another cause. Temperature shifts between baths are a BIG problem! So...manage your water supply as explained above, mix your chemicals precisely and make-believe you are processing color transparency film ad keep the temperature constant between baths. Even if the temperature is elevated slightly above 68 degrees F. it's OK if all the baths are the same- differentials are bad!. Never over-immerse the film in the stop bath, fixer, or the clearing agent- stick to the exact recommended times.

Especially if the wash water is hard, use a wetting agent such as Phot-Flo solution and squeegee the film VERY GENTLY with soft viscose springs which are stored in a closed container of diluted Photo- FLO solution. NEVER extend wetting agent time beyond 60 seconds wit gentle agitation. Avoid forced heat drying- air dry in a clean dust-free area.
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Do not do "Martini-Shaker" agitation. In total darkness, keep the tank open and lif the film in a rotating motion GENTLY for 5 second every 30 seconds.

I have sued these methods for many years and have obtained large format-like results from 35mm and medium format negatives.

The secret is that excessive wet time during the entire process causes various degrees of reticulation (emulsion shifting)- just enough to exaggerate grain and diminish acutance. Clearing agent softens the emulation to allow latent fixer to escape so just observe the recommended time- no more! Temperatur controls the wash water as much as possible. Shortened wash times enable by the clearing agent makes that easier.

Many photographers shoot carefully with the finest gear and then murder the film in the darkrrom Don't do dat!

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

If your softened ww doesn’t work out, consider setting up a “still” and produce your own pure, uncontaminated water.