Using Chlorides for Effective Dust Control

Dawn KruegerDust Control

Tractor Dust Management

One challenge that you will encounter during the landscape design process is controlling dust. No matter how hard you try, there can be situations where dust control can be a frustrating experience. This is where you can think about seeking the assistance of chlorides. Both calcium chloride and magnesium chloride are quite effective at the time of helping you to control dust in landscaping as well as on dirt roads and construction sites. If you seek the assistance of a landscape renovation expert or landscaping maintenance company, these compounds can be helpful during and after renovation and planting. 

Why do people use calcium chloride and magnesium chloride for dust control? 

Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride are one of the most often used dust suppressants. They’re a fast and handy answer to most dust management concerns since they’re inexpensive and simple to apply. However, they aren’t the most long-lasting items, and their environmental effect might create some concern, especially when not applied by a professional.

While chlorides may be used to efficiently manage dust in certain situations, their disadvantages should cause you to think twice before trying to use them on your own for a DIY dust management program. Let’s go through the advantages and disadvantages of Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride to assist you in making the best long-term decision in terms of efficacy and cost-efficiency.

What are chlorides and how do they work?

Both Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride are salt-based substances that are used to capture dust particles. These are the most often used chemicals for dust management and they have equal levels of efficacy.

Calcium chloride is more extensively utilized east of the Mississippi River since large amounts of it may be found throughout the state of Michigan. Magnesium chloride, on the other hand, is significantly more often used in the Western United States due to its high concentration in the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Although there are some minor distinctions between the two, most notably in their ability to absorb moisture, they are both equally useful in most situations.

What are the benefits of using calcium chloride and magnesium chloride for Dust Suppression? 

The cost of chlorides is their key benefit over other dust suppression options. In most circumstances, these days, a ton of calcium chloride may be purchased for as little as $140, while a ton of magnesium chloride can be purchased for as little as $100. Chlorides are a rapid and inexpensive option for urgent dust management demands, such as treating a dirt parking lot before a major event, since they’re also simple to apply. You may think about using chlorides on your landscape without having any second thoughts in mind. No matter what, you will surely fall in love with the results coming on your way. 

For less regularly used surfaces, chlorides may be an efficient long-term solution. While they won’t survive more than a few weeks under moderate use, they’ll stay considerably longer on a less used surface like a tree-lined rural road, particularly in regions with low moisture and very little precipitation. They offer dust suppression for a much longer period of time when compared to water, and instead of softening road surfaces, they can even make them harder.

Are there any drawbacks to using chlorides for dust control? 

While chlorides are an excellent solution on moderately used surfaces for short periods of time, they don’t hold up as long on roads with heavy traffic and will require much more frequent applications. Calcium and magnesium chlorides are easily washed away by water, so they don’t hold up to the impact of rains, snow and regular precipitation. wind and rain, or the regular watering that many sites use to keep haul and access roads in good shape. As a consequence, there is an instant requirement for repeated reapplications, which consumes more cash and resources.

Chlorides are also not the most ecologically friendly substance available. They may pollute water supplies, destroy plants, and endanger people and animals since they are very corrosive to metal surfaces. Without sufficient precautions against such problems, the resulting challenges cancel out any cost reductions made in the near run. To overcome these drawbacks, you need to stick to a credible supplier for purchasing both calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. This will help you to end up with getting the best possible returns at the end of the day. 

What kind of chloride is best for dust control?

You’re constantly searching for methods to improve efficiency as a site and project manager. When it came to dust management, finding a solution that meets your site’s needs while staying under budget and aligning with the operation’s strategic objectives may be difficult. If not, you may even get in touch with your landscaping company and ask for recommendations.

To accommodate cost and availability, minimize decision time, and simplify the procurement process, magnesium chloride and calcium chloride have been used equally for dust management. If you have restricted access to supply shops, the inclination to replace magnesium chloride for calcium chloride, or vice versa, is accentuated.

The fact that calcium chloride and magnesium chloride may be used interchangeably does not suggest that they should be. If you want to improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of your dust management, you should learn more about how these two separate solutions function.

The capacity of a product to bind moisture on the roadways and keep fugitive dust from coming free determines the degree of dust control performance. This allows us to understand why humidity has a significant influence on product efficacy, even if it isn’t immediately apparent. Despite the fact that they both function to connect with (and bind) water, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride have differing responses to relative humidity. It’s also crucial that you know what percentage you’re working with.

Although humidity wasn’t the only thing to consider when choosing a product, knowing what to ask for depending on your environment should help you understand what to ask for.

Final words

Now you have a clear idea on how to use calcium chloride and magnesium chloride for dust control and suppression. Keep these facts in mind and make sure that you stick to the right solution. You should also purchase the solutions from the right services provider, so that you can receive outstanding results with landscape maintenance.  Have questions? Contact us and we’ll do our best to help!