Baked Potato: Cooking Instructions, Please

[Dynasty]

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This may or may not be clear to you.

Wash the potato!

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I was under the impression that washing potatoes is very bad because they soak up the water and that is bad for some reason (same tendency which makes them soak up oil, which is good for some reason) and you should just clean with a dry paper towel. Can anyone confirm?

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I was under the impression that cooking something at 450 degrees for nearly an hour would kill germs/bacteria more effectively than washing it.