History Main / ShrunkInTheWash

* In ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'', Raven attempts to buy a dress [[CreditCardPlot on credit]] and then return it before her father notices the charge. However, she is forced to wash it after it gets dirty only for it to shrink. She managed to get it back to its original size by massively stretching it out and then washing it again, but the salesman learns that she both wore and washed it before attempting to return it, forcing her to keep it.

** Though it doesn't actually happen, this Trope is mentioned in ''[[Recap/DuckTalesS2E2SuperDuckTales Super Ducktales]]''. When [=GizmoDuck's=] suit is hijacked by the Beagle Boys, Huey, Dewey, and Louie save him by switching the Megabyte Beagle's remote control with one for a [=GizmoDuck=] toy. When Megabyte tries using the toy remote control and the toy appears, he goes, "What did he do?! Shrink in the wash?!"

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E6TheDress The Dress]]", Gumball [[UnplannedCrossdressing is forced to wear his mom's wedding dress]] because [[{{Manchild}} his father]] shrunk all his clothes in the wash. When he's inevitably spotted by the other kids, they don't recognize him, and in fact, [[AttractiveBentGender they're all smitten with him]] except for his sister Anais (yes, {{even the girls|want her}}, [[SadistTeacher Miss Simian]], and ''his own brother'').

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has Sniper Wolf showing AbsoluteCleavage because her jumpsuit shrunk in the wash (which may or may not have been done on purpose by Decoy Octopus).

* In the ''VideoGame/CostumeQuest'', the yeti monster turns out to be a guy in a suit; the reason why the yeti hasn't been seen is that the suit shrunk in the wash. Fortunately, it's shrunk to the correct size of a fourth-grader.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rolo to the Rescue}}'', entering a washing machine will cause Rolo to become miniaturized.

** In the episode "To [=SquarePants=] or Not to [=SquarePants=]", [=SpongeBob=] leaves his pairs of pants in the dryer and gets distracted by a phone conversation with Patrick. When the dryer stops, Gary takes out his shell, turns the dryer back on and all of Spongebob's pants are all miniaturized, forcing him to buy a new pair.

Not in media, however, where this trope is taken UpToEleven. Even the slightest dash of water could reduce an expensive three-piece suit to the size of atoms. Even things that shouldn't logically shrink aren't safe from incorrect cleaning!

[[folder:Film]]

* According to Creator/JenniferBeals, the loose sweatshirt from ''Film/{{Flashdance}}'' happened because it got shrunk in the wash and had to cut a large hole to fit her, though it kept faling off-shoulder.
* Used in ''Film/LethalWeapon3'' as an excuse why Murtaugh's uniform no-longer fits after 15 years of being out of it, blaming the cleaners for shrinking it. Riggs however [[BlatantLies doesn't believe a word of it]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheGhoulSchool'' has a group of cadets assembling a water bazooka to attack a guard dragon to get their volleyball back. Only due to a misfire they soak their commanding officer, after putting his wet hat back on it comically shrinks down to size.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' series opener "Home", when the kids are sitting in the rain Eddie complains that his cashmere sweater is shrinking. Madison adds that [[ItMakesSenseInContext the tuba on her head]] [[RuleOfFunny is shrinking as well]].

** In the episode "To [=SquarePants=] or Not to [=SquarePants=]", [=SpongeBob=] leaves his pairs of pants in the dryer and gets distracted by a phone conversation with Patrick. When he takes them out, they're all miniaturized, forcing him to buy a new pair.

* Invoked by Aunt Petunia in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' when Dudley's old sweater keeps shrinking every time Petunia tries to force it over Harry's head, until it's small enough to fit a hand puppet. Though it was obviously magic, Petunia came to the more logical conclusion, sparing him from severe punishment.

[[caption-width-right:349:Even if they don't normally wear clothes, it's still SeriousBusiness for Rarity.]]

* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': In one story, Gordo goes through a [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut period of disillusionment with favourite team, the Oakland Raiders]], and gives away his Raiders jersey. Bob takes it as a present for his nephew Hunter, who loves pirate stuff. A week later, Gordo is over his pique and sheepishly asks Bob if he can have his jersey back. Bob obliges, but explains that it shrunk in the wash, and hands over the now child-sized jersey. As there is no way it will fit him now, Gordo gives it to Hunter anyway. Hunter is overjoyed until he noticing it is a Raiders jersey and declaring "The Raiders suck!"

* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': In one story, Gordo goes through a [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut period of disillusionment with favourite team, the Oakland Raiders]], and gives away his Raiders jersey. Dave takes it as a present for his nephew Hunter, who loves pirate stuff. A week later, Gordo is over his pique and sheepishly asks Dave if he can have his jersey back. Dave obliges, but explains that it shrunk in the wash, and hands over the now child-sized jersey. As there is no way it will fit him now, Gordo gives it to Hunter anyway. Hunter is overjoyed until he noticing it is a Raiders jersey and declaring "The Raiders suck!"

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[[quoteright:349:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sisterhoovessocialshrunkensweater.png]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:349:Even if they don't normally wear clothes, it's still SeriousBusiness for Rarity.]]

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* ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'': In one story, Gordo goes through a [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut period of disillusionment with favourite team, the Oakland Raiders]], and gives away his Raiders jersey. Dave takes it as a present for his nephew Hunter, who loves pirate stuff. A week later, Gordo is over his pique and sheepishly asks Dave if he can have his jersey. Dave obliges, but explains that it shrunk in the wash, and hands over the now child-sized jersey. As there is no way it will fit him now, Gordo gives it to Hunter anyway. Hunter is overjoyed until he notices it is a Raiders jersey and declaring "The Raiders suck!"

* One episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' concerns Jerry trying to get a drycleaner to admit that he had shrunk one of Jerry's shirts in the wash. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI8QWW15MnM As seen here.]]
* ''Series/EerieIndiana'' has the episode "[[IncredibleShrinkingMan The Incredible Shrinking Stanley]]", in which Stanley gets splashed with special soap from the Eerie laundry mat and starts shrinking.
* ''Series/MrBean'': Teddy is shrunk in the wash in "Tee Off, Mr. Bean". Of course, he's back to normal again next episode.
* ''Literature/TheSaddleClub'': In "Show Ponies Part 1" Ashley rode Comanche. Veronica gave Ashley her coat after it shrunk in the wash since it wouldn't fit her anymore.
* ''Series/SesameStreet'' has an episode in the 1990's where Baby Bear got a new tie from his aunt. After it blows away in the wind and lands in the mud, Baby Bear washes it only for it to shrink down to finger size, leaving him to spend the rest of the episode's plot trying to find a way to fix it.

* In ''Series/TheNewAvengers'', Purdey undergoes a trip through a car wash, emerging to find that her jumper and skirt have become considerably shorter.

* Happens to one of Kochanski's only two outfits in ''Series/RedDwarf'' when the dryer ends up being set too high. Kochanski is by this time too tired to care.

* In the opening of ''VideoGame/ChuckRock'', Chuck's LoinCloth is in the wash, so he puts on some leaves instead.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has Sniper Wolf showing AbsoluteCleavage because her jumpsuit shrunk in the wash (which may or may not have been done on purpose by Decoy Octopus).

* In ''Rolo to the Rescue'', entering a washing machine will cause Rolo to become miniaturized.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short "The Zoot Cat", after Tom falls into the fishbowl, his zoot suit shrinks until it pops off. Jerry then jumps into it, and it fits perfectly.
* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats'' episode "A Greenthumb Is Not a Goldfinger". All six protagonists have been captured by Amazon basin natives, who plan to shrink the Pussy Cats' heads in their potion cauldron. To prove that Pussy Cat magic is stronger than the natives' magic, Alexandra dunks her brother's shirt into the potion, which has no effect. Alexander's shirt was the only one guaranteed not to shrink.
* This happens after Sweetie Belle washes Rarity's clothes without permission in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. In this case, it's only one specific wool sweater that shrinks after it's put out to dry. Rarity is very angry at first, and then later realizes that the smaller size makes it a perfect fit for her cat.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldofGumballS1E6TheDress The Dress]]", Gumball [[UnplannedCrossdressing is forced to wear his mom's wedding dress]] because [[{{Manchild}} his father]] shrunk all his clothes in the wash. When he's inevitably spotted by the other kids, they don't recognize him, and in fact, [[AttractiveBentGender they're all smitten with him]] except for his sister Anais (yes, {{even the girls|want her}}, [[SadistTeacher Miss Simian]], and ''his own brother'').
* In the sketch, "Honey, I Shrunk the Clothes Trailer" from the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "K-Acme TV", when Hamton and Gogo get jobs at the laundromat, and they accidentally shrink Fifi's dress to the size of a doll's dress.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheGhoulSchool'' has a group of cadets assembling a water bazooka to attack a guard dragon to get their volleyball back. Only due to a misfire they soak their commanding officer, after putting his wet hat back on it comically shrinks down to size.
* Becomes the key to saving the day in the ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters'' episode, "Mummy Dearest". Airhead, a ghostly mummy, has been turned into a giant and set loose to terrorize the oil fields. When the Ghostbusters' Dematerializer (the weapon they use to bust ghosts) is damaged and thus useless against anything larger than a couple inches in height, the Ghostbusters hit upon the idea of using a car wash to shrink Airhead down to size.
** It's also played for laughs both times the Ghostbusters drive through the carwash and their uniforms shrink and even fall apart as a result.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': In the short ''Porky's Naughty Nephew'', a beach party for cartoon animals has a shower there to help guests with their clothing problems. A mouse gets doused and his oversized suit shrinks to fit him, while a hippo gets doused and ''he'' shrinks to fit his undersized suit.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' series opener "Home", when the kids are sitting in the rain Eddie complains that his cashmere sweater is shrinking. Madison adds that [[ItMakesSenseInContext the tuba on her head]] [[RuleOfFunny is shrinking as well]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** In the episode "To [=SquarePants=] or Not to [=SquarePants=]", [=SpongeBob=] leaves his pairs of pants in the dryer and gets distracted by a phone conversation with Patrick. When he takes them out, they're all miniaturized, forcing him to buy a new pair.
** Happens to Man Ray's detachable head in "Shuffleboarding" when he throws it like a flying disc at [=SpongeBob=] during their battle at the laundromat, only for it to fly into a washer and shrink because it's dry clean only.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' episode "T-Shirt of the Living Dead", Shake steals an ancient Egyptian T-shirt from the museum and absent-mindedly throws it into the washer with a full bottle of bleach and hot water. However, the hieroglyphs on the shirt's tag said that it should only be washed in cold water, so it shrinks to the point that only Meatwad can wear it.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Hayley gets angry at Reggie for shrinking her purple top in the wash.
* A Wing Dings blackout on ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'' has Dick Dastardly fuming as his newly washed uniform is shrunk and fits ill on him. To rectify it, Klunk pushes Dastardly into the wash water which shrinks ''him'' enough to fit his uniform.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DennisTheMenace'' episode, "Laundry Business", Dennis, Joey and Gina start their own clothes-washing business to pay Mr. Wilson back for [[BrokenGlassPenalty all the windows they broke playing baseball]]. One of the clothes they wash is Mr. Wilson's favorite sweater. After all the clothes are washed improperly thanks to Dennis' antics, Mr. Wilson is horrified when Joey shows him the sweater, which is now small enough to fit Joey himself.

* In a series of ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strips where [[BumblingDad Roger]] was left [[ADayInHerApron in charge of the household]], this was one of the many mistakes he made. When Paige (rightly) flips out over her now-shrunken clothing, he counters that her brothers aren't complaining; enter Peter, wearing a shirt half its proper size, remarking "That's because we can't BREATHE!"
* One early ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' strip had Dilbert buy a pair of shrink-to-fit pants that are too large, because he expects them to shrink in the wash. He insists that after one cycle, they'll fit like a glove and they do - like a glove with two fingers.
* In a ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'' strip, Lucy attempted to wash Schroeder's piano, and [[https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1982/05/02 it shrunk to a toy-sized piano]].

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sisterhoovessocialshrunkensweater.png]] ]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Even if they don't normally wear clothes, it's still SeriousBusiness for Rarity.]]