Line #114 Main/RedSockRuinsTheLaundry


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4	[[quoteright:242:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pink_underwear_8.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:242:[[{{Pun}} Hat's off to you, Bart]]. You ruined an entire load of laundry.]]
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10
11	->''"Put one red thing in a load of whites, now everything's pink."''
12	-->-- '''Mr. Incredible''' complaining about househusbandry to Edna Mode, ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2''
13
14	Ah; fresh laundry. Nothing's better. Crisp and clean, colors bright and whites white.
15
16	Unless a red sock ended up in the wash. Now you have pink.
17
18	Used to be TruthInTelevision (and in some cases still is), and the reason why this trope happens is a fairly simple one: coloured clothes can have excess dye on them (especially if they're new or aren't washed very often), and even small amounts of dye become obvious in lighter clothes. If the two are washed together, there's a risk that some of the dye will be washed off and stain the lighter clothes.
19
20	Although this can happen with any combination of darker and lighter colored clothes getting washed together, the 'red clothes staining white clothes pink' example is by far the most frequently used and well known version. Mainly because PinkIsForSissies, much to the horror of the [[TestosteronePoisoning macho man]] or {{tomboy}} owner of the recoloured garment (especially if they already got themselves in this mess by "reducing" themselves to doing their own laundry, or are being forced to do ADayInHerApron for some reason).
21
22	Something of a DeadHorseTrope, due to both the invention of better dyes and colour-fast detergents (which were made to mostly avoid this trope, much to the relief of fans of striped clothing everywhere), and the fact that [[RealMenWearPink wearing pink isn't as much of a big deal anymore]]; in fact many clothing stores sell salmon pink shirts as a legitimate option, regardless of gender.
23
24	Compare ShrunkInTheWash for another kind of laundry mishap and EmbarrassinglyDresslikeOutfit for the horror of a manly man ending up with an unexpectedly "feminine" garment.
25
26	----
27	!!Examples:
28
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Advertising]]
32	* In a Bundaberg Rum commercial, an anthropomorphic polar bear's fur is stained pink after his human friends slip a red sock into his bath. Leads to a RealMenWearPink situation.
33	* In one of the Advertising/CNCity bumpers, WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack and WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo are washing their clothes at a laundromat. Jack's white clothes came out pink because [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 Blossom's]] pink clothes somehow ended up in with them.
34	* Discussed in a Kmart commercial advertising their sale on Hanes underwear; when two ladies look over the sale, one of them tells the other that her husband threw his red bowling shirt in the wash, which turned all his briefs pink. The husband overhears and tells his wife, "Does everyone in Kmart have to know?"
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* ''ComicBook/BartSimpson'': The cover image from #81 shows an angry Homer discovering all his white shirts turned purple in the laundry, while Bart, wearing his purple Bart Man suit, walks away [[NotSoInnocentWhistle whistling]].
39	* One issue of ''ComicBook/TinyTitans'' had this happen to everyone's clothes thanks to the penguins putting the red capes of the Superman family in with the rest of the laundry. Robin's attempts to fix the problem with food coloring result in his Nightwing costume becoming rainbow-colored.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
43	* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'': Peter's sweater once ended up in the laundry with Paige's stuff along with a fancy pen, turning it from grey to pink and giving it a fruity smell... and making him popular with the girls for RealMenWearPink reasons. Too bad it was on the very last day of school.
44	* In one ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' strip [[https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2009/03/15 from 2009]], Jon accidentally left his red sweater in the wash, making his underwear pink. He then gets an idea of buying a blue sweater and leave it in the wash again to make purple underwear. Garfield sarcastically remarks Jon as a genius with this quip.
45	-->'''Garfield:''' And his dad thought that art degree was just a big waste of money.
46	* In one ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy'' strip, Bucky's "lucky red sock" got in a load of Rob's whites, even though he doesn't wear socks normally, being a cat.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Fan Works]]
50	* In one chapter of the ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'' fanfic ''Deleted Scenes'', in order to get revenge on Max for something he did in an earlier chapter, Tyson throws his red hat into a load of white laundry, which includes Kai's headband, that Max is doing. He takes it out before Max can find it and Max takes the blame for the ruined clothes.
51	* ''Fanfic/{{Evershade}}'': Due to Gabby putting in her red plushie in an otherwise white laundry load, and a mentally said {{pun}}:
52	-->''Wait a minute. White load? Red plush?''\
53	It took me a moment to take a second glance at the clothes thrown on the floor. "G-Gabby. You didn't..."\
54	''I thought that stuff only happened in TV. Color me surprised.''
55	* In ''Fanfic/FrankieRules'', Bloo mentions that he accidentally turned Frankie's favorite green sweater white.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
59	* In ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1'', Gru's spacesuit turns pink after Margo, Edith, and Agnes wash it together with their ballerina tutus.
60	* In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', a very tired Bob drops off Jack-Jack at Edna's house, and begins to lament about the many blunders he made while trying to be a HouseHusband, including accidentally dyeing a load of laundry pink.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
64	%%* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'' features this gag.
65	* {{Exaggerated\|Trope}} in ''Film/Paddington2'' where a single red sock in the prison laundry dyes all the convicts' uniforms pastel pink.
66	* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
67	** A throwaway scene in ''Film/SpiderMan2'' has Peter Parker ruin his whites by washing them in the same load as his Spider-Man costume (he was washing them at a public dry cleaner, and he presumably felt he couldn't wash his whites and costume separately without someone seeing the latter).
68	** A similar gag is mentioned off-screen in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', where Peter and Aunt May are both hiding things they want to put through the laundry; Aunt May insists on handling Peter's laundry on the grounds that he "turned everything red and blue" last time he did the laundry. Peter claims he was washing [[BlatantLies the American Flag]].
69	--->'''Aunt May:''' No one washes a flag!\
70	'''Peter:''' [[BlatantLies I do]].
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Literature]]
74	* ''Literature/EllenAndOtis'': Otis comes to school in a pink undershirt at one point in ''Otis Spofford''. He claims it's because his mom accidentally put one of his glow-in-the-dark socks in with the rest of the laundry, though the other students don't care about the cause; they just mock him for having pink underwear at all.
75	* In ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', the titular regiment sneaks into a fort occupied by enemy forces disguised as washerwomen. Since they're washing clothes for the enemy, Polly suggests mixing the whites and colors to peeve them.
76	* In the picture book ''Literature/{{Olivia}} the Spy'', Olivia's mother complains about being at the end of her tether because of certain of Olivia's recent actions, among which is being asked to put her father's white shirts in the washer, only for her to put her own red socks in with them and cause them to turn pink. Olivia says that she thinks they look pretty. "Well, then ''you'' wear them," her mother replies.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
80	* Overlaps with ShrunkInTheWash in one episode of ''Series/AustinAndAlly'' when the kids are tasked with cleaning a biker's jacket. The resulting small, pink jacket ends up making for a great gift for his daughter.
81	* In ''Series/DerryGirls'', the accidental inclusion of a red piece of paper in with the whites results in all the girls wearing pink shirts with their school uniforms. When they wear them to school, it's taken as a statement about gay rights.
82	* An episode of ''The Dumping Ground'' has Frank sneak his red Manchester United shirt into Rick and Faith's laundry. This results in Rick and Faith's laundry being turned pink and it is not discovered Frank was the culprit until Jody notices the ends of Frank's shirt have been turned pink.
83	* Daphne from ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' has to deal with a JerkJock in the laundry room. She uses a pair of her red panties to turn one of the loads of white laundry pink. During TheStinger, she gets into the elevator with the neighbor and has to hold in her laughter at seeing him in his pink tennis gear.
84	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': The first time Rachel does her own laundry she accidentally leaves a red sock in with the rest of her whites and dyes the whole lot pink.
85	-->'''Rachel:''' Oh, everything's pink.\
86	'''Ross:''' Yeah, uh, except for the red sock, which is still red. I'm sorry, please don't be upset, it could happen to anyone.\
87	'''Rachel:''' Except it didn't. It happened to me. Oh, god, I'm gonna look like a big marshmallow peep.
88	* Discussed in the ''Series/FullHouse'' episode "Day of the Rhino"; when Michelle orders an Action Rigby figure based on Rigby the Rhino, a [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney]]-like orange rhinoceros, only to feel ripped off when she is sent a tiny figurine, she shows it to Joey, who calls the Rigby hotline to complain. When he calls the hotline, [[ForInconveniencePressOne a recorded message picks up his call]]. One of the complaints the hotline addresses is "Press 2 is your Rigby sticker turned everything in the washing machine orange". Upon hearing it, the appaled Joey notes "Remind me to cross that off my Christmas list!"
89	* In the ''Series/HannahMontana'' episode "Cuffs Will Keep Us Together", when Robby Ray lectures Jackson on how he can't be trusted:
90	-->'''Robby Ray:''' I ask you to do the dishes, [[ItCameFromTheFridge I get green chicken]]. I ask you to separate the whites in the laundry, and I get green underwear.\
91	'''Jackson:''' Well, what are you worried about? Nobody's gonna see them, unless you do that sunrise yoga out on the deck again.
92	* Discussed in an episode of ''Series/HomeImprovement'' when Benny Baroni stays at the Taylor residence due to Tim having blown up his house.
93	-->'''Jill:''' Who ties up the phone, puts their dark laundry in with our whites, sleeps all day and watches TV all night?\
94	'''Tim:''' Benny!
95	* In one episode of ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'', Mara does this to Mick as a spiteful prank for him thinking she's boring. She also turns it onto high, making his shorts not only pink, but too small for him.
96	* ''Series/HunterStreet'': In one episode, Daniel's white shorts end up in the same load as Anika's red jeans. Of course, they came out of the washing pink.
97	* Sam does this to Freddie once on ''Series/{{iCarly}}'', in an effort to tricking him into thinking he was cursed by an internet chain letter.
98	* The show ''Series/LifeWithDerek'' has the family's whites turn pink when Derek tosses his red sweater into the dryer to get it warm.
99	* ''Series/LifeWithLucy'': When Ted does the laundry, he accidentally turns his white underwear pink.
100	* An episode of ''Series/LoisAndClark'' had ADayInHerApron for John and Martha. Clark ended up with a pink shirt after his dad washed it with his Superman cape.
101	* The ''Series/PhuaChuKang'' (a Singaporean comedy series) episode, "War of the Sexes", have the men and women of the Phua household arguing they're capable of surviving without each other, and decide to swap roles for a week to prove their respective points. One of the mistakes the Phua brothers did, however, was forgetting to separate the laundry, resulting in this trope but taken to the extreme when the white clothes turns ''blood red'' (rather than pink like how it usually plays out).
102	-->'''Margaret Phua:''' ''(holding a burgundy-coloured blouse)'' My ''white'' dress!
103	* Happens to Harold in ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' when he gets [[DistractedByTheSexy distracted by a pretty girl]] while doing his laundry; he then shows up at the lodge in a pink sweater that used to be white.
104	* The first episode of ''Series/TracyBeakerReturns'' has Liam arrested by the police after he pulls a scam where he offers to do someone's laundry and the clothes get turned pink after he sneaks in a red sock.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Video Games]]
108	* In ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom'', it's revealed that [[NotSoDire this trope is why Prawn became Mermaid Man's arch-nemesis, and the worst evildoer he fought]].
109	-->'''Prawn:''' Personally, I thought pink made you very pretty.\
110	'''Mermaid Man:''' Really?\
111	'''Prawn:''' [[KickTheDog Sure]], [[BaitAndSwitch pretty]] ''[[KickTheDog stupid]]!'' ''(evil laugh)''
112	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': The reason Dan Hibiki's dougi is pink is that it used to be white, but it got mixed with some red clothes in the laundry.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Web Videos]]
116	* ''WebVideo/RatsSMP'': The premise of the quest "Laundry Mishap", in which the Maid prepares to wash Mr. Icraga's shirts in early anticipation for his arrival home from the war, but is sent into a panic after ending up with a laundry load full of pink shirts, which she speculates is because of a red sock. On Day 37, Will, Bek, and Apo complete this quest by re-dyeing all the clothes ''different'' colours. Thankfully, none of the humans question this.
117	* In the ''WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan'' episode "Bowser Junior's Pink Bib!", Chef Pee Pee washes his red jacket after Junior stains it by tossing Cody's LEGO airplane into the Mac and Cheese he made. Afterwards, Cody sneezes on Junior's white bib, so Junior has Chef Pee Pee wash it as well. Chef Pee Pee does so at the same time as his jacket. When both the jacket and bib are cleaned, the bib comes out pink. When Joseph and Cody see the pink bib, they tease Junior.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Western Animation]]
121	* In the pilot episode of ''WesternAnimation/AppleAndOnion'', Onion has to get his boss's jacket cleaned after he accidentally smeared melted ice cream on it. While at the laundromat, Onion lets another customer wash his team's red uniforms along with his load. Unfortunately, this causes the boss's jacket to turn pink, and poor Onion gets fired.
122	* Invoked in the ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "[[Recap/CourageTheCowardlyDogS4E50CourageousCureBallOfRevenge Ball of Revenge]]" when Katz puts colorful clothes and white clothes together in the washing machine to torture Muriel.
123	* Dexter's dad from ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' goes through this during an ADayInHerApron plot. When trying to do the laundry, he ends up dying Dexter's lab coat pink because he thought it was a good idea to wash it alongside Dee Dee's ballet tutus.
124	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}}'' episode "[[Recap/DisenchantmentS2E5OurBodiesOurElves Our Bodies, Our Elves]]", during the annual Wash Day, the executioner accidentally turns his hood pink since he washed all clothes simultaneously, regardless of color.
125	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E13BendinInTheWind Bendin' in the Wind]]", Fry, Leela, Amy and Zoidberg are following Bender (who is now a folk singer) on tour, when they stop at a laundromat. Zoidberg puts his shell in along with their laundry, causing it to look tie-dyed.
126	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E20JeersForFearsTeaTaleHeart Tea Tale Heart]]", Lola borrows an antique porcelain doll from Lucy that she wasn't supposed to touch, and accidentally spills tea on her white dress. When Lola attempts to wash the doll's dress, it and the rest of the laundry in the washing machine are turned pink. It is then revealed that [[ThePigPen Lana]] chose to wash her hat on that one particular day.
127	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/MonaTheVampire'' has Mona with her friends putting their clothes into a washing machine. Charlie asks Mona if they should separate the reds from the other clothes, to which Mona replies that Charlie shouldn't believe everything he sees on TV. This leads to everyone's' clothes turning pink (not just their whites, their clothes which aren't white as well).
128	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' episode "[[Recap/NinjagoS1E5CanOfWorms Can of Worms]]", [[BrattyHalfPint Lloyd]] deliberately washes one of Kai's red ninja suits with Zane's white ninja suits, resulting in all of Zane's suits turning pink. [[RuleOfFunny His Spinjitzu turns pink, as well]].
129	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'' has Peppa put her red dress in with Daddy Pig's white football shirt, which ends up turning the shirt pink before the football game, much to Daddy's dismay.
130	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "Accidents Happen", Dil's onesie gets washed and ends up pink.
131	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E1StarkRavingDad Stark Raving Dad]]", Homer finds that all of his shirts have turned pink in the wash because Bart put his lucky red hat in there. Since he's now the only one at work with a pink shirt instead of a white one, his boss, Mr. Burns, mistakes him for a free-thinking anarchist.
132	[[/folder]]

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