Most people never realize that an egg comes with its own built‑in armor. That nearly invisible coating, the cuticle, quietly seals thousands of microscopic pores, blocking bacteria and slowing down moisture loss. The moment you wash a fresh, intact egg under running water, you’re not “cleaning” it — you’re stripping away its first and best line of defense, and inviting exactly what you feared inside.

Yet this doesn’t mean you must live in fear of every carton. If your eggs come from a trusted source and look reasonably clean, leaving them unwashed preserves that natural shield. Cooking them thoroughly, especially by boiling, adds another powerful layer of safety. In the end, the choice is yours, but each time you reach for the faucet, remember: sometimes the safest thing you can do for an egg is simply to leave it alone.