Abstract: By measuring the volume of return flow of cleaning liquid, such as perchlorethylene, from the still, reclaimer and sniffer portions of a dry-cleaning system to the main or reserve cleaning-agent storage tank thereof, the efficiency of the system's use of the cleaning agent can be continuously audited and the steam-heating of the still, reclaimer and sniffer portions can be limited in time to those times when such heating produces a flow of re-claimed cleaning fluid to the main or reserve tank, thus limiting the consumption of the energy consumed in the steam generation process while conserving dry-cleaning liquid and assuring optimum system operation.