Anyone use Brita Water Filters?

We started using that rig from Costco about six months ago since the local water supply in our area of Northern California is awful. You shouldn't run hot water through the filter system, but as for cold, it works really swell. I noticed a marked difference in clarity, taste, and a distinct lack of muck. We also use it for filling the 2 1/2 gallon water bucks for our dogs that get changed every couple of days. I would say the filter lasts around a month or so given average use. The cartridges aren't all that expensive either and depending on how much they have to filter out, may last longer where you are than over here. It does make good sense for mixing, processing and rinsing in the darkroom. Mark

I think Lex uses one. Maybbe he'll catch this thread.

Funny thing is, I have no idea what the quality is of the H2O I get. I live in LA county, but in a separate city with it's own water co. I'll have to inquire about it. It certainly tastes better then other tap water I've had. Still, I'm always searching for ways to improve my negatives. Distilled water is cheap and I usually keep several containers on hand but in my tiny apartment I need all the space I can find. Besides, there are those that say distilled water is actually not ideal for processing; something to do with charged ions or something to that effect. Thanks guys, Marc

Except for your final rinse/photoflo and the water you use to make up your developer, I don't think distilled water or filtered water is necessary, unless you have insanely hard or polluted water. Just be consistent and you'll be fine.

After a recent discussion on APUG, I use distilled water to mix up one-shot developers (probably unnecessary in nearly every location in the US and Europe, particularly with developers like Kodak's D-76 powder that are specifically designed to handle extreme water conditions) and in the final water/photoflo rinse; everything else is tap.

Photographers have been developing film in everything from river water to sea water with good results since the beginning of the art form.

Mark, have you ever tried to compare negs developed from your tap vs. from distilled water? I did a few times and there was nary a difference. Of course really poor tap water might be improved upon but it's got to be really bad from what I understand.

I use the Brita jug and park it near a radiator - always full and always at temp. Everywhere I've lived the tap water has sludge - just check the state of the filter when you change it!

I use Brita filters along with San Francisco tap water to mix developer, fix (TF-3/4) and final rinse. Regular cold tap water year round for rinse between developer and fix, as well as wash. No problems whatsoever, have even used it for XTOL lately without any sudden deaths. (But I'm only on my third 5L kit, so knock on wood...)

very tiny bits of the charcoal filter come into the water and lodge in the midtone areas of the neg like skys. Put a inline cartridge filter in. Calumet sells them. 6 micron is ok, I use a 3.

The water here is so crappy, Brita filters and the like don't work very long (they do make the water taste better for a while, though). I use distilled water from the grocery store to mix up chemicals and do the final rinse. I think it's about $2 for a gigantic jug that lasts a few months. I now have very few problems with drying streaks. If you do decide to use a Brita filter, the advice about charcoal bits is good, I've had the same problem in the past.

The best filters for photographic use are Ametek filters (based, I think, in Paoli, PA.). I think they may now be part of Osmicron. I have the AM2 (at leat that was its designation in the UK) which has a 10" filter cartridge, good for about 30,000 gallons. And the filter cartridges are very competitively priced. They also do carbon cartridges to take out pollutants. You can run them in tandem to take out both particulates and pollutants.

We're have very hard rural well water. It's in a limestone basin. Our salt based water softener consumes salt at three times the average rate.

I used to use a Brita pitcher to filter water for my chemistry, including final solutions from stock solutions. For a year or so this worked fine.

Then a minor disaster occurred. I didn't adequately prewash a Brita filter before using it to brew up some developer. Tiny particles of activated carbon and some kind of white stuff got into my developer and then stuck to a couple of rolls that were rather important to me. There was absolutely no way to rescue these negatives - the specks were embedded so firmly in the emulsion that there was no image under them.

Eventually I'll use these negs to practice with the technique used by a photographers whose work I greatly admire, Emil Schildt, who deliberately "destroys" his negatives and prints (sometimes Polaroids) to accomplish a unique vision.

Meanwhile, tho', I no longer take chances. I use only distilled water to mix my film chemistry, from stock solution to final solution, including stop bath and fixer.

For mixing print chemistry I still use water run through the Brita pitcher filters. Print emulsion isn't as delicate as film emulsion and stuff doesn't stick to it as readily. But I'm more conscientious about rinsing the filters completely.

Ideally I'd like a multi-filter system, but that'll have to wait.