Ethanol is is a colorless, aromatic liquid with a distinct smell and it evaporates easy, and soluble in water. It is a flammable substance (both in liquid and vaporous form). In our cleanroom it is typically used for cleaning vacuum parts, e.g. o-rings (it will dissolve part of the o-ring, so this thoroughly gets rid of e.g. metallic residue from sputtering or evaporation systems, but at some point, the o-ring should be replaced).