Depends on the pot. Stainless steel (good pots) should never ever be left to soak in water over night, and should be washed, rinsed, allowed to drip out the majority of the water then wiped nearly completely dry - to the point where when they are sitting on the stove no water drips or dribbles or puddles. Of course using a tea towel will leave behind some moisture. Allowing the pot to air dry an hour or so is a good idea. Cast Iron should never ever be submerged in water. You should have a sink of soapy water and use a wet soap sponge to wash the pot, running very hot water over it to rinse - followed by a quick drying with a towel, and placing it on a heated burner to "dry" the rest of the way quickly. Of course cast iron needs to be seasoned (basically oiled) after being washed. That is simple, take a paper towel and a bit of vegetable oil and wipe on a thin layer of oil inside the pan. I stack all of mine using thick paper towel like material (packing material) which is like 3 times the thickness of a food 3 ply paper towel, I have taken the time to cut the sheets to size, placing a sheet inside the largest pan, then placing a smaller pan in side, then another sheet of that paper, then a smaller pan. "Non-stick" pans need to be wiped dry (at the very least) in the inside to prevent mineral deposits from forming which will, over time, degrade the non-stick surface. The most forgiving are aluminum pans, you can allow those too drip dry with no corrosion or loss of smooth surface. However water spots do look "bad" on shiny pots and pans.