I think the generation that grew up with stainless steel and aluminum cookware had one definition of "clean". The generation that uses non-stick surfaces has a different one.
My father was a thin man and he frequently complained of indigestion. He was very supicious that cookware could harbor bacteria. He cleaned pots and pans till the surfaces had no trace of oil on them. By contrast, I see people who use non-stick cookware simply wash and rinse it in hot water and leave the surface oily. In my experience this is the only practical way to treat non-stick surfaces. If you clean them till they are not oily after every use, they wear out quickly.
I think the practical way to deal with cast iron frying pans is to leave them oily looking after cleaning. If you clean them till the oil is gone then they quickly rust, even if you intention is to put oil on them after they dry.
Theories of cleaning plastic bowls vary. If you put them in the dishwasher they get cleaned to a non-oily state. If you wash them by hand then then some people leave them feeling slick.
Wooden bowls are usually oiled. I think most people who wash them do not wash them so much that they stop feeling oily.
I wonder if the attitude toward leaving a surface oily has changed over time due to the nature of the oil being left. In my father's time, the oil would often have been animal fat or genuine butter. In modern times, it is often vegetable oil or margarine.
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