In our opinion, HCFC-225 is not a great choice for most cleaning applications. But to be fair, HCFC-225 does have a few advantages. It's a moderately powerful cleaner. It works well in vapor degreasers. It is nonflammable and not as aggressive on plastics as HCFC-141b. Perhaps most importantly, it is not classified as a Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) so the air-quality regulators in Southern California think it is "the bee's knees."

So what are the problems? First and foremost, HCFC-225 is an ozone-depleting substance. Specifically, it is a Class II Ozone-Depleting Substance  under the U.S. Clean Air Act. Because of this fact, the Montreal Protocol requires that for most of the world the manufacture of HCFC-225 must be phased out at the end of 2010. So after doing all the work to specify a new cleaner, you soon will be faced withn repeating the project to specify something that is completely ozone-safe!

Secondly, HCFC-225 is really just one product. There are very few blends which enhance or expand the cleaning performance of the product. Meanwhile, Vertrel^® is a whole family of choices, allowing engineers to tailor their chemistries to their applications.

Most critically, HCFC-225 has a definite toxicity factor. There are two "versions" of the HCFC-225 molecules, called isomers. One of the HCFC-225 isomers is substantially more toxic than the other, although it normally is present in the solvent at very low levels. Originally, the 8-hour time-weighted Average Exposure Level (AEL) has been set at 100 ppm.

In short, HCFC-225 is yesterday's news. Select Vertrel^® for a cleaner you can use today, tomorrow and for years to come.

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