You think he gets the message?
"It's not a dirty window unless somebody writes 'Clean me' on it."
— Max Caulfield, Life Is Strange
A very common, but also kinda childish, joke; a person sees a very dirty vehicle, and as a far from subtle message to the owner, writes "Wash me" (or something else to draw attention to the vehicles state, like "I'm dirty") in the dirt. Sometimes accompanied by a smiley icon or exclamation mark.
Can also be done with other dirty objects, like a window, but vehicles are the most common.
Far more harmless than usual graffiti, since no paint is involved, and all it takes to get rid of it again is, well, washing. It's a form of reverse graffiti
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Examples:
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Advertising
- One of the Chevron Cars, a very dirty car named Maddie Mudster, has this on her door.
Comic Books
- In the comic book tie-in to the movie Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Sherman combines this trope with Deface of the Moon by writing "Wash Me" in large letters in the dust on the moon's surface.
Comic Strips
- In a gag of the Dutch newspaper comic Dirkjan, humanity makes first contact with aliens. The aliens land, scribble something in their language on Dirkjan's car, and leave again. When a scientist manages to translate the alien writing, it turns out it says "I want to be washed".
- In one strip of Drabble, Mr. Drabble (the ditzy father figure) sees a car with "wash me" written in the window and thinks it's the most amazing thing ever—a car so advanced, it tells its owner when it needs to be washed!
Film-Animated
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines: The Mitchel family car has these words written in the dirt on the back window.
Live-Action TV
- Corner Gas: In the episode "Wash Me", Wanda, as part of her awkward flirting with the milk delivery man she has a crush on, writes "Wash Me" on the side of Hank's dirty truck to be funny. Hank takes umbrage at this, as he uses his truck as an improvised notepad, and the graffiti attracts the attention of some overeager kids running a carwash.
- Discussed in the episode "Helpless" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Giles is quizzing Buffy on various crystals and their mystical properties, and that amethyst is used for "cleansing one's aura." Buffy snarks "Okay, so how do you know if one's aura is dirty? Does somebody come by with a finger and write "Wash Me" on it?"
- Last Man Standing: In the episode "Quarterback Boyfriend", Kyle suggests writing "wash Me" on the back window of Mandy's exes truck, as a way of getting revenge.
- Curb Your Enthusiasm: The season 9 episode "The Accidental Text on Purpose" has a B-plot about Larry and an anonymous neighbor exchanging crude messages on Larry’s dusty car, including "Wash Me".
- Discussed by the title character in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: "Anonymous insults are never funny, except when you write 'wash me' on a car. That's just funny, 'cause it's like, is it the car saying it?"
Video Games
- Early on in Life Is Strange, you can write "I'm so dirty" + a smiley face on the window of a camper van that belongs to Frank Bowers as an optional photo. If you do so, the graffiti will be there for the rest of the game.
- In the Hidden Object Game Mystery Case Files: Prime Suspects, the words "Wash Me" are written in the dirt in the upper-right corner of Millie the Milliner's front window.
- In Day of the Tentacle, there is a filthy car in the present with a "Wash me" hint. Examining it has Bernard mention he doesn't wash his car because it always starts raining. This is a hint that you are supposed to wash the carriage in the past.
- Beater variants of the Jackrabbit in Saints Row have a 15% chance of spawning with the "Wash Me" reverse graffiti on the rear window◊.
- In Our Life: Beginnings & Always, during the Step 3 scene Hang, the MC has the option to write "Wash Me" on Cove's car after they notice how covered in sand and dirt it is.
Web Comics
- In this strip from Cyanide and Happiness, a vandal writes "wash me" on a dirty car, but gets caught in the act by the owner, who proceeds to wash the vandal in the shower.
Western Animation
- In the episode "Dog Dale Afternoon" of King of the Hill, Dale borrows Hank's lawnmower and abuses it— going to a burger joint's drive-thru and filling it with soda instead of gas. Hank and Bobby find the mower in a not-so-great part of town, and when Hank sees "Wash me" written on it, he hurriedly tries to cover it from Bobby's sight.
- Big City Greens: One episode's subplot is Tilly noticing a dirty car with this kind of graffiti written on its back while the family is stuck in a traffic jam, and Cloudcuckoolander that she is she acts as if the car actually was asking her to wash it (the fact the rear lights look like a sad face with all of the grime piled on them helps). She eventually takes over a fire truck's water cannon to do the washing, and the car looks "happy" after she sprays it.
