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Just changed my mind about using distilled water for the final rinse, and a $3 jug of it saved my negs
I used to think tap water was fine for the final rinse since everyone online says their water is "good enough." Then I moved to Phoenix and started getting these chalky white spots on my negatives about 3 rolls out of every 5, mostly along the edges. A guy at the local camera shop told me to stop guessing and just buy a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store for about $3. I mixed a tiny bit of Photo-Flo in it, dunked the film for 30 seconds, and hung it up, and I have not seen a single spot in my last 8 rolls. Has anyone else noticed their water quality change depending on what city they live in, and did you switch to distilled or find another fix?
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lisa8398d ago
The "good enough" tap water thing is such a trap because it really does depend on where you live. I moved from Portland to Tucson a few years back and my negs went from clean to looking like someone sneezed on them. Hard water is brutal for that final rinse, all those minerals just dry right onto the film. Distilled plus a drop of Photo-Flo is the move, and honestly a gallon lasts me months since you're only using a little at a time. One thing that helped me too was not squeegeeing, just a slow pull between two clean fingers, since those spots can also come from the water sitting in the sprocket holes too long. Glad you got it sorted, 8 rolls with zero spots is a solid streak.
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