How to clean butternut squash for storage?

The squash has been on the ground for a long time.

Google is saying I should not even use water. Just brush it off with a dry cloth. Other sources suggest hydrogen peroxide, or even bleach, with water.

In my limited experience, it seemed to me that: if squash is not washed off, it tends to go bad faster. I don't think the bacteria comes off with a dry cloth.

Supposedly, if I wash the squash with water, I take off some protective layer.

Any thoughts?

I'm used to the process of cleaning the squash with water, thoroughly drying it, then cure it for a couple weeks before placing it in storage.

If I get any funky rinds that I question if they will last, they will get cubed and put in the freezer.

I haven't managed to keep squash around long enough to see if my curing process works or not but it seems to do the trick.

The only squash I have had any real success with was butternut squash.  I just wiped them off and put them in a cool, dark corner in my storage building.

I know this goes against the conventional wisdom of curing them in the sun for a couple of weeks, but I find that the cool, dark place makes them take longer to cure, which means that I can store them much, much longer.  For me, that meant I didn't have to process and can or freeze them, and I got to enjoy a fresh, out-of-season vegetable.

Have you given any thought to using vinegar as the mild cleaning solution?  I saw that recommended somewhere when I did the research before harvesting mine.

I put them in the garage without any cleaning. What starts rot are imperfections on the rind, bug or animal bites or what have you. Eat those first. My squash will generally last until spring, so roughly six months. Some do go bad over that period.