Perc phase-out

Definition

The federal rule retiring perc machines, on two clocks set by machine generation.

Why It Matters

The rule runs on two clocks and a third-generation plant is on the short one. Using perc in a third-generation machine is prohibited after December 20, 2027, while fourth and fifth generation machines run until December 19, 2034. A separate line closes the back door: perc may not be used at all in any dry cleaning machine acquired after June 16, 2025, whatever its generation. A plant in a building where people make their home has no clock left at all, because the federal air rule has required it to emit no perc after December 21, 2020. So the equipment list is a countdown with dates on it and the buyer inherits the replacement bill. Read the generation of every machine, the date it was acquired and whether anyone lives in the building before agreeing a price, because a plant that stops in December 2027 is not the same asset as one that runs to December 2034. Alternative-solvent and wet-cleaning plants sell this as an advantage; perc plants sell it as a discount, stated or not.