I wipe my chains with a very lightly dampened towel (mineral spirits) & add a drop of thick oil to each roller. Chain-L is the best available for this.

I never wash chains & they last a very long time.

The thick oil (Chain-L or something like it (140W gear oil) will not allow grit to enter the chain's moving parts and the re-application keeps the side plates & rollers filled thus excluding grit ingress.

Chain lubrication can be reduced to a simple procedure and sequence:
1) Wipe the outside clean.
2) Apply a drop of thick oil to each roller.
3) Let sit for a time.
4) Rotate the crank a few turns.
5) Wipe everything you can off the outside of the chain.

Joe