That's a really silly newbie question, but funnily enough I could not find any threads addressing it. So do you guys wash your malt grains before crushing them? Just in case the husk was less than perfectly clean when sold from the HBS.
1.) The grain is "cleaned" by the combine in the field. (A fanning type clean; mostly removes stones and straw.)
2.) The grain is "cleaned" by a large fanning mill either at the farm or at the maltster or both. (Also separates kernels not classified as plump in addition to stones, straw, weed seeds, etc...)
3.) The first step in malting is "cleaning" the grains by washing them in water.
Your need to wash your grains is unjustified as it won't do any good and will only leave you with a big mess. It will not remove mold, bacteria, fungi or viruses. It will not make the grain "less dusty", in fact it may make the grain more dusty and multiply the mold and fungi already on the grain.
If you've never dealt with grain before, grain is very dirty even when it's clean. It's just the nature of grain. Some grains are naturally "cleaner" than others, but most are very dusty and dirty due to the dry plant matter.
If need be you can wear a mask or a respirator to prevent breathing the dust while milling and dough in.
Today's farmers and maltsters are held to high standards. Grain is screened before being accepted for malting.
You can be assured that what you paid for is about as good as it gets.... Now if you want to malt your own, then yes, you will wash your raw barley as the first step.... which is really rather a fun task, IMHO.
BTW, most fanning or cleaning mills aren't 100%, in fact you may find some small pieces of straw or grass while milling, doughing in, mashing or sparging. These are really harmless and you can remove them if you wish. While milling you may find some less than plump kernels which make it through the mill, you can either adjust your gap, or don't worry about it, especially if there aren't very many of them. In fact, if you malt your own, you will have many less than plump kernels unless you sieve your grain first.