Was not prepared for the smell

[Zaphod2319]

I set the dark room up in my library. I cleaned up after using everything. I can smell a hint of it in the rest of the house now. I definitely need to think this through. I don't want my house smelling like a darkroom.

 

[compur]

I am glad I went digital a long time ago.....

I'm glad you did too.

 

[PixFixer]

Developed the first set of prints, well at least attempted to do so. Was not prepared for the smell of the chemicals. It is not so much over powering, but the fumes seam to get in my clothes and beard. It is not a pleasant smell that. I could not imagine doing this for a living back when developing enlarger prints were the norm.

I was working with old enlarger paper that came with the darkroom equipment I bought. It was toast. It all turned black withing 10 seconds of hitting the developer, but you can still see the image. It also darkened in odd patterns. It is not pretty to look at. Ordered new paper from Adorama.

The pic is the chemicals I was using.

Developed the first set of prints, well at least attempted to do so. Was not prepared for the smell of the chemicals. It is not so much over powering, but the fumes seam to get in my clothes and beard. It is not a pleasant smell that. I could not imagine doing this for a living back when developing enlarger prints were the norm.

I was working with old enlarger paper that came with the darkroom equipment I bought. It was toast. It all turned black withing 10 seconds of hitting the developer, but you can still see the image. It also darkened in odd patterns. It is not pretty to look at. Ordered new paper from Adorama.

The pic is the chemicals I was using.

You'll get used to it. Darkrooms smell. In the good old days there was no choice in the mater. It was the darkroom or nothing. Now, in the wide world of digital you have a choice and most never go with the darkroom and I'm one of them. I was and still very good in the darkroom and in-fact did work for other pro photographers. I don't miss it. I can do anything I did in the DR and so much more. The day will come, sooner than later, when you won't be able to get film, paper and those chemicals unless you make them. I did make my own film developer, D23. When was the last time you put hard rubber tires on wood spoked rims on you car?

 

[Jamestebert]

I fondly remember the smell of fixer and stop bath and didn’t mind it. When I use my home darkrooms that didn’t have good airflow, I had double paned
glass made to sit on the trays thus keeping the smells somewhat contained. I don’t care for the smell on my hands, so I use tongs or rubber gloves.

 

[Zaphod2319]

I switched to digital 13 years ago. I am not going to one or the other, I just enjoy getting a medium format camera for a steal of a price. I will be doing digital, film with enlargement prints, and film with scanned printer. The darkroom is new, so I am all in to learn....and enjoy it.

 

[ac12]

VENTILATION

IMHO, this is the primary problem of many jerry rigged home darkrooms. You got to get the chemical vapor (and smell) OUT and fresh air in.
This is just like home bathrooms without an exhaust fan. When you take a hot shower, the steam builds up in the room, and all the walls and ceiling get damp, and you sometimes get mold.

IF I ever move back into my parents home, ventilation is one thing that I will be upgrading on the darkroom. It needs better exhaust ventilation for the chemicals. We did not understand proper ventilation when we built the darkroom 40 years ago, so the exhaust was not behind the chemical trays.