DRAIN REMEDIES

Have you ever experienced a drain problem? If you haven’t, you don’t want to! The fact is that drain problems can be a huge mess and can cause thousands of dollars of damage and lose of production within your company. Our QuickDrain Wash system for example will help eliminate your drain problems from reoccurring and provide a quick ROI on your return.

Typically with photographic chemicals, the pH of your chemical may be the causing factor of your drain problems. When an alkali (known as developer) and an acidic chemical (known as fixer) meet together in a drain, ammonia is instantly formed. Ammonia acts as a breeding ground for bacteria. Since developer is very slimy and has a high pH; the bacteria adheres to the drain pipes, p-traps, elbows, etc. It is to this slime that everything sticks to which creates that familiar sludge build up that we’ve all seen. With newer technology, processors are using less water with their chemical and flushes which is good for the environment, but inevitably you may experience more drain problems because the water that used to flush your drains isn’t there anymore.

If your site experiences drain problems or has the potential of experiencing problems due to photochemical build up then consider any one of our drain remedies. Our Quickdrain Wash system to ensure a clean drain, our EST Tank to collect the sludge build up or our Fotex Drain Clear solution if you need a quick fix.

Another problem to look at and address are drain pipes. The best type of pipes that should be used for photo processing solutions should always be composed of a plastic material, such as PVC or ABS. Essentially all plastics that would be approved for use as a drain pipe will be impervious to attack by photo processing solutions and effluents.

1. Copper pipes should never be installed on the overflow drain of a processor. The photographic chemicals themselves will corrode the copper piping.
2. Iron (Cast Iron) pipes are also susceptible to corrosion by some of the chemicals contained in photo processing effluents. Some black-and-white fixers are sufficiently acidic to slowly dissolve the iron. These are primarily those fixers used in x-ray and graphic arts processing. However, the ultimate effect is that some of these reactions may produce iron oxides (rust) on the inner pipe surface. These oxides slowly build up and constrict the orfice to the point of completely closing off the flow. * See drain picture of a cast iron pipe. Eventually, the integrity of the pipe will be compromised, and it will leak.