It really isn't necessary to wash your rice anymore. The practice is age old, but mostly because in the old days, rice wasn't shipped in the nice bags. They were shipped in big ugly burlap bags. The cargo was often left sitting on docks awaiting distribution, all the while rodents and whatever else wanted to make a home in the large pile of rice, did. So back then unless you liked your rice with a helping of rat droppings and rat urine, you washed your rice. While were on the subject of doing stuff but we don't really know why. Does anyone notice how old folks peel the skin of manapua before they eat em? Thats because in the old days a lot of manapua makers in order to get a smooth finish on their manapua, instead of brushing on a concoction of flour and water to make em look better, the baker would take the mixture in his mouth and spray it out onto the manapua, kinda like a spray bottle (they didn't exist yet) without the bottle.