I got a grocery-store lotus root that appeared to have an intact and undamaged growth eye, so I have hopes for it...

I put it in damp unscented clay kitty litter (half-buried, how it will be when I stick it in the pond--well, vaguely pond-like object, at this point). But there seems to be some white, powdery mold on it. Anything I can do to salvage it?... for example, would wiping it down with bleach or something help, hurt, or do something unexpected?... Or is this a normal thing lotus roots do when they're in storage?

For that matter, is there anything I'm doing Horribly Wrong about storing this lotus for the winter? Or about trying to grow a lotus from a root sold for food in the first place?