DIY poor man gravel road dust control

[jsjsteven]

My how the times have changed... We lived on a dirt road as a child in the 60's & 70's. My dad was a mechanic and he used to bring home 55gal. drums of use motor oil and pour it on the road in front of our house. We had an old Ford 601 tractor. He would put the drawbar on the lower arms and cradle the barrel on the drawbar. Pull the small plug on the barrel and start driving up and down the road until it was empty. I wonder how many federal agencies would swarm on this today?

 

[old and tired]

....

 

[Sid Post]

I'm looking to control dust with the crushed concrete on my driveway. A little rain really helps. Not sure what to do for a longer-term solution.

 

[moparrob]

I like the waste fry oil idea. If some rat bastige calls the cops, you can honestly say its food grade, or at least it was at some point.

Years ago I was all excited about making bio diesel, but at about that time the restaurants local to me were all in contracts with commercial processors and every drop of their fry oil was spoken for. Is that still the case now that the federal subsidies have expired?

Seems like biodiesel is harder to find around here.

 

[Lena]

Old crankcase oil works well and does not run off when put down in the proper ammount. I had a driveway about 12' away from our swimming pond, the drive was also about 6' in elev. above the water and had a good slope to it. Never got any oil in the pond and you know how little oil it takes to see that rainbow oil sheen on water. I used a 2" PVC valve screwed into the bung on a 55 gal drum to a "tee" extending each (l&r) way out to about 9' and capped the ends. Drilled (about) 3/16" holes every 2" or so along the bottom and put the drum on the tractor forks and drove along. It lasts a long time and I never saw any signs of the oil having an impact on anything except the dust! Pic show's the situation although it is now paved. Just trying to say that I have respect for the enviroment, especially mine, and with common sence application, oil for dust control works. I remember when the county used to oil the dirt roads.
Don't do it when rain is expected soon, and several light passes over a few days until the dust dissapears with traffic will keep you from overdoing it.

If the right agency finds out You may be forced to dig up all contaminated soil. (your entire driveway as deep as they determine is contaminated). then also be required to ship the soil to a hazardous waste site. $$$. Plus a fine on top of that. Way too pricy for me.

 

[MH8675309]

My how the times have changed... We lived on a dirt road as a child in the 60's & 70's. My dad was a mechanic and he used to bring home 55gal. drums of use motor oil and pour it on the road in front of our house. We had an old Ford 601 tractor. He would put the drawbar on the lower arms and cradle the barrel on the drawbar. Pull the small plug on the barrel and start driving up and down the road until it was empty. I wonder how many federal agencies would swarm on this today?

I remember that - those roads would pack down so good you could lay rubber on em

 

[Rustyiron]

If the right agency finds out You may be forced to dig up all contaminated soil. (your entire driveway as deep as they determine is contaminated). then also be required to ship the soil to a hazardous waste site. $$$. Plus a fine on top of that. Way too pricy for me.

Ya, I don't/won't live in those places!
I owned the property and my kids swam in the above mentioned pond. Everything in moderation and you'll be alright.

 

[wooftank]

So true

 

[hammerone40]

I would avoid CaCl. The corrosiveness is one thing but is also a pollutant that we choose to ignore. Oil works well. Just regular old water is used around here if needed but recycled asphalt gravel seems to not be as dusty. Maybe heavier particles or residual oils are enough to help?

 

[paulsharvey]

For a sand road, adding ball field clay/sand clay does work to a pretty large degree. Water trucks of coarse work, but aren't realistic. For more final solution, prime and sand, or chip seal are the real answer if the wallet supports it