Non-washer here - I’ve never been sick from anything I’ve cooked, ever - including chicken
The chicken my Mom cooked was Banquet frozen chicken out of the box. My stepdad was the butcher of chicken on his family farm growing up and refused to eat chicken.
My FIL put cooked chicken on the same plate as the raw after BBQing until just a few years ago. It was hard to get him to change that practice. We try to eat out when we visit. ? . Last visit MIL wanted to leave the chicken soup on the cooktop overnight. I put it in jars and refrigerated it for her. They must have good luck as they never get sick.
If I’m cutting chicken before cooking, I cut it on a plate because I’m not convinced the cutting board surface gets really clean even in the dishwasher. I use a fork to hande it. Then rinse plate, knife, & fork immediately in very hot water and run through the dishwasher right away.
@sensation723: ALL your meat??? Good grief, why? What do you think you’re accomplishing?
Most definitely chicken will be washed. I would be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t wash it. I’m sure it’s cultural.
I also wash the lettuce in bags they say has been washed already.
Can’t recall any time in my life when I’ve let the thoughts of others, esp those I don’t know, affect my own choices - esp when I see/know what I’d be eating if I shared their views.
It’s not that difficult to clean the sink and areas around it. Someone not doing that is the one living dangerously - akin to cutting meat on the same board/plate they later use for uncooked veggies.
Because no one has ever gotten sick from food stores/restaurants have prepared???
We’re another family that has never gotten sick from anything prepared at home whether we killed it at home (deer, some chicken) or bought it from a store.
Two of my guys did get food poisoning once - from cold cuts sold in an outlet store where oldest son worked for one summer - a food prep company selling to stores/restaurants. We’ve never bought any food from them since.
I don’t generally wash cut up chicken, but I do rinse out roasters. They always seem to have stray feathers and bits. I never thought I was getting rid of salmonella. I’ve never gotten food poisoning in this country.
Back when I lived in Africa fleeting stomach bugs were a pretty regular part of our existence.
If I saw dirt and feathers on my chicken, I’d sure wash it. But I never have seen it. Shrug.
I actually remember seeing a similar thread on whether people rinse off their vegetables, with people arguing passionately on both sides. I do wash vegetables because I often feel the dirt and grit on them, not for any sanitary reason. I can see that thread running through this discussion.
Huh, if I think I’m doing something CDC specialists don’t approve of, that is one group of strangers I WOULD be listening to. You know… scientists specializing in public health.
But does Costco wash their chickens before they cook them? ?
Lol. I saw a comment on that article from a person who washes her chicken saying that people who don’t are “disgusting.”
And @MomofWildChild wondered how there could be a 4 page thread on this. THIS IS CRUCIAL information to have about a person! 
Yeah, does Sam’s wash their chickens? I haven’t cooked a whole chicken in eons. Too convenient to just buy one roasted (or fried).
The most I do is cut up chicken wings and then with chopping and trimming it just requires rinse.
But never ever gotten sick from meals at home. That’s the real test. I know CDC might be doing some tests to find out what is better but are any of the tests in real life situations? Do they stop at splashing around germs or follow through on cleaning the sink like we do?
I don’t know anyone who follows their guidelines to the letter. They’d have to be a really “by the book” person. I know plenty who choose to eat raw or undercooked seafood, eggs, and even hamburger. We eat street food all the time when we travel - it’s great (and no, that’s similar to camping where I ignore how it might have been prepared so it doesn’t even come to mind if it was washed or not - any restaurant or person’s house for that matter).
But at home… there are plenty of poultry processing plants around locally with a neighbor who used to work in one. We wash poultry and other meats to remove things we know are on them and don’t wish to consume. YMMV
Someone who disagreed with the CDC would say something to the effect of “salmonella isn’t a problem,” or maybe “catching it is healthy overall” similar to how the antivax folks feel about measles. It’s not the person who sees what the problem is and adjusts for it to continue doing what they want to do in a healthy manner (aka - making sure areas around the cleaning area get cleaned and limiting spray).
I just rinse and say grace over it. 
I try very hard not to make my world smaller by fussing over things. I have a germaphobe friend and I’ve seen how easy it is to drain the joy out of just living your life.
"Can’t recall any time in my life when I’ve let the thoughts of others, esp those I don’t know, affect my own choices - esp when I see/know what I’d be eating if I shared their views.
It’s not that difficult to clean the sink and areas around it. Someone not doing that is the one living dangerously - akin to cutting meat on the same board/plate they later use for uncooked veggies."
" I know CDC might be doing some tests to find out what is better but are any of the tests in real life situations? Do they stop at splashing around germs or follow through on cleaning the sink like we do?"
I tend to trust scientists. It’s not like they are suggesting such things just for giggles. Just because you haven’t gotten sick doesn’t mean that the way you are doing things is okay. Perhaps you and others have been fortunate to have never brought salmonella contaminated chicken into your home. It doesn’t mean your way is less risky just because you haven’t gotten sick before.
I think people don’t realize how far any water spray/micro droplets can travel.
If you are buying chicken with feathers and dust, best to buy better chicken. I haven’t had that experience at all.
Speaking of buying chicken, I really don’t like how so much chicken comes pumped up with that crappy solution these days. I find that gross.
@TQfromtheU totally agree. Have a germaphobic friend who washes EVERYTHING she eats…everything. So when we have pot luck lunches, she won’t eat things like salads and fruits because they might not be washed to her high criteria. I will say, she often contributes these items…so she has something to eat.
Guess she won’t be eating chicken or chicken salad anymore either…
She also has a thing about properly washing utensils used to prepare food. Going out to eat is challenging with her as well as having her as a guest in our home.
Her parents are in their very late 90’s and are NOT germophobic. Maybe the germs gave them the longevity they have.
I also have never encountered feathers or dust on chicken.
Well, I wash my chicken over an empty sink and dry with paper towels and I will continue to do so because a. to do otherwise grosses me out and b. you can’t get a damp chicken breast to brown properly. Ditto on the chickens pumped with solution! You try to pan fry and it ends up a braise. Hate that. 40 years of cooking the way I do and so far no food poisoning so I’m feeling okay with my approach - sometimes you listen to the experts and sometimes you say: whatevs CDC! I eat undercooked eggs too.