Etching question...rinsing off board

[gutsofgold]

Once your traces look good, I understand you should quickly rinse off the ferric chloride with cold water to stop the reaction.

Is it safe to rinse the board off and let the water go right down the drain? Or do you rinse over a bucket or something. I would assume going right into the drain wouldn't hurt anything since it would be so diluted.

[snoof]

it's so diluted that you don't have to worry about it.  just run the water for a bit.

[Mark Hammer]

I try to be conscientious about disposal of FeCl, but I don't have a problem with rinsing off the last little bit of it down the drain with LOTS of water.  Quite apart from any environmental concerns, you don't want any copper plumbing downstream to be eaten by the etchant, so diluting the etchant well is helpful.