Dust control

Tom Gardner (nospam) wrote:
It seems I am plagued with dust no matter what I do. When I built the new
darkroom, I caulked every drywall seam, floor and ceiling joints, plumbing
entrances and exits, filtered the air intake, don't smoke in the room and I
still have a huge dust and spider problem. I can't figure how the critters
get in yet alone what they eat. This room is almost air tight! I'm
considering an ionic air thingy...thoughts?

When I started working in darkrooms in 1968 I attended a small Oregon
college. Our advisor had a great solution for dust.

In the three months that I attended we painted the room from top to
bottom twice. It did solve the dust problem. No kidding.
Clint Herndon

When I started working in darkrooms in 1968 I attended a small Oregon
college. Our advisor had a great solution for dust.

In the three months that I attended we painted the room from top to
bottom twice. It did solve the dust problem. No kidding.
Clint Herndon


I agree, it is now on my list to paint with a high gloss oil enamel. And
I'll paint the cement floor with epoxy based paint. Thanks

"Tom Gardner" wrote

I built a filter holder that uses a "High Efficiency" accordion style
element that is mounted on the ceiling/wall that has a booster duct fan on
the 6" duct coming from the AC/furnace. There is a switch on this fan. On
the floor, under the sink area is a vent that dumps into the other part of
the basement. There is a standard fiberglass furnace filter on this.

Well, that _should_ keep dust down...

have positive pressure...kinda'. How about I block the air dump partially
or fully and increase the positive pressure? I don't want to run the
booster fan continuously and rarely run it at all, only when it gets hot in
there, no problem with it being too cold.

If you run the fan continuously, as an experiment, does this take care
of the dust problem? Does the darkroom ever get back-winded?

If the room is unoccupied does dust accumulate?

I would imagine the room 'breathes' through the exit filter and dust
trapped in the exit filter may then go back into the darkroom -- this
is pure speculation. But, what happens if the exit filter is blocked?

A good coating with gloss enamel helps, obviously. Do you get dust sticking
to the walls? If so then a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent in a bucket of
water
and wipe the walls down and let them dry so there is fine film of detergent on
the wall -- this will keep the static electricity on the walls down.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix . netcom . com
Fstop timer - http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 10:30:15 -0500, "Greg
\"Blank\" - Lizard King."
wrote:

As for
spiders who knows they creep me out.


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

They only do that becasue you should leave
them alone. They eat other insects.

For creepy, millipedes are hard to beat.
Spiders eat them before they run across your
face while you're asleep in bed ...

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:17:27 -0500, "Lew"
wrote:

I've always felt that dust has more of a chance of becoming airborn if
there's too little humidity. Any way to test this out?


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

This is definitely true. Dryness in the
darkroom is very bad. So is excessive
humidity, so a measurement/readout device is
very helpful.

I got one from Radio Shack (now named
something cuter, I think, but the products
are still cheaply made).

It's just an LCD in a little plastic holder.
It shows temperature and relative humidity.
In my place I need a humidifier in the winter
and a dehumidifier in the summer. The readout
tells me what the situation is, and how to
set the machines as the outside temperature
changes.

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:19:38 -0500, "Lew"
wrote:

Spiders ... Coming in through the plumbing? Air filter?
-Lew


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

Probably not the plumbing. Cockroaches might
travel through the drain pipes, spiders I
doubt. I'm no expert, but it seems unlikely.
Roaches forage and explore. Spiders are
predators. Hunting in the pipes is unlikely.

My guess is the spiders are attracted by the
light. Try leaving the darkroom dark when not
in use. No small lights, either.

Spiders are not a problem in themselves,
unless it's some special situation like a
tropical locale. They eat other bugs, so the
net effect is positive. Regular vacuuming of
the top corners of the room, and in behind
things on the floor will keep the webs down.

Spiders have to eat, so if they are present,
other bugs are, too. Kill the spiders and
you'll get a look at these.

Spiders eat webs and recycle them into fresh
web. How Internet friendly of them ...

Regular wiping up for dust and regular
vacuuming and floor swabbing help more than
anything. A dust cleaner for the air sounds
good. Just make sure the filter is the kind
that doesn't need to be replaced at constant
cost -- get one (electrostatic kind) that
goes into the dishwasher.

I'd never use toxic chemicals in my darkroom
.... not even to kill bugs.

By the way, if cockroaches are a problem,
there is very successful new technology. A
substance named Hydroprene completely
neutralizes roaches. It is a synthetic insect
growth hormone, and it causes the roach eggs
to fail to hatch. Thus, any roach that
happens to wander in may stay and even live,
but not reproduce, so infestation is not
possible. In combination with a gel-style
attractant-based toxin (Hydramethylnon) to
kill the wanderers, roaches can be reduced to
something seen -- never. (A similar hormone
is used against fleas. The best type is a
hormone-impregnated plastic collar for
animals. The substance is called Methoprene.
I could have the names switched around, since
I'm going from memory here, but anyone with a
roach or flea problem should be motivated
enough to do the research! I sure was ...

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 16:44:36 -0500, Chris
Ellinger wrote:

Best solution is to create positive pressure ventilation, and filter
the intake.

Chris Ellinger
Ann Arbor, MI


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

This will be very helpful against bugs, too.
Many insect eggs are tiny enough to be
considered dust. Many newborn insects are
pretty tiny, too, including spiders. Positive
pressure and regular swabbing will go a long
way toward controlling dust, along with
humidity in the human comfort range (40 to 55
or 60 per cent).

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 01:37:39 GMT, "Tom
Gardner" wrote:

I've been plagued with dust forever and
everywhere.


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

Well, define 'plagued'.

It would have to mean dust appearing on
prints, or negatives.

In prints, dust in the light path is a
culprit. Dust on the floor or in a spider web
at the ceiling is a smaller problem, at least
a less immediate problem.

I put a lot more effort into keeping my
enlarger, negative carrier and negatives
clean than into keeping the room clean.
Coupled with proper humidity in the room,
these efforts seem to be quite successful for
me. I have relatively little print spotting
to do.

Maybe I should point out that 'relatively
little' does not mean I never do any print
spotting. I spot nearly every print I make.
I'd never expect to achieve a situation in
which print spotting vanishes. Fifteen
minutes to half an hour spent spotting every
good print I make is pretty routine.
Sometimes more.

Maybe I'm just reporting an improvement since
my feline fibre and dust factory packed it
in. In my life I've had two cats -- covering
a total of four decades -- enough to span
just about every darkroom I've ever had.
Until now ...

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 00:50:56 -0600, John
wrote:

Yes: give up. Embrace the dust. All attempts at resistance are futile.

Oh pooh ! Anyone can get rid of dust ! All you have to do is to run
your hot water line into a fire extinguisher/sprinkler and let it
bathe your darkroom in steaming hot water prior to your usage of said
room.

P.S. Please check all grounds prior to flooding the darkroom with
steaming hot water !

==
John S. Douglas


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

Well, you've exaggerated a tad but you are
really only saying an increase in darkroom
relative humidity will solve the problem. But
rather than advocating the New Orleans
Katrina-Darkroom, I suggest an investment in
a cheap humidity readout device and a basic
home humidifier.

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

On 18 Mar 2006 07:21:53 -0800, "cgrady"
wrote:

In the three months that I attended we painted the room from top to
bottom twice. It did solve the dust problem. No kidding.
Clint Herndon


March 18, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

What if the second and subsequent paint jobs
had been replaced by careful swabbing of the
whole room from top to bottom? Seems weird
that actual paint should be necessary.

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--