At Noma, for large items like crocks and buckets, we disinfect using ethanol diluted with filtered water to 60 percent alcohol by volume (ABV)—40 milliliters water for every 60 milliliters ethanol. (We dilute it because if the percentage of ethanol is too high, it can actually coagulate the proteins that make up the cell walls of many microbes and prevent them from dying.) We put the solution in a spray bottle and spray whatever needs to be sanitized, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then wipe it off with a paper towel.
