There is no single set of instructions for cleaning every wound. But the same instruction turns up again and again for different kinds of wounds.
After a cesarean section (C-section): keep the wound area clean by washing it with mild soap and water. After open gallbladder surgery: keep the wound area clean by washing it with mild soap and water. For a stage I pressure sore: wash the area gently with mild soap and water.
After a C-section, there’s something that reassures most people who ask this question. You don’t need to scrub it. Often, just letting the water run over your wound in the shower is enough.
Closed surgical wounds follow the same idea. If your surgeon gives the OK, gently rinse the wound as you bathe. Do not rub or scrub the wound. Don’t use lotions, powders, cosmetics, or any other skin care products on the wound.
Not every wound is cleaned the same way. For a stage II pressure sore, where the skin is broken, clean the area with salt water, also called saline, and rinse to remove loose, dead tissue. That’s a different instruction for a different wound, which is the point: the wound decides the method.
There’s one thing not to reach for with pressure sores. Do not use hydrogen peroxide or iodine cleansers unless your provider tells you to, because they can damage the skin.
All of this is a pattern across several specific sets of instructions, not a rule covering every wound. If you have been given a cleaning routine for your own wound, that is the one to follow.