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1[[quoteright:300:[[Series/CornerGas https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s5e5.JPG]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:You think he gets the message?]]
3->''"It's not a dirty window unless somebody writes 'Clean me' on it."''
4-->-- '''Max Caulfield''', ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange''
5
6A 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.
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8Can also be done with other dirty objects, like a window, but vehicles are the most common.
9
10Far more harmless than usual graffiti, since no paint is involved, and all it takes to get rid of it again is, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin washing]]. It's a form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_graffiti reverse graffiti]].
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12----
13!!Examples:
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15[[foldercontrol]]
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17[[folder:Advertising]]
18* One of the Chevron Cars, a very dirty car named Maddie Mudster, has this on her door.
19[[/folder]]
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21[[folder:Comic Books]]
22* In the comic book tie-in to the movie ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'', Sherman combines this trope with DefaceOfTheMoon by writing "Wash Me" in large letters in the dust on the moon's surface.
23[[/folder]]
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25[[folder:Comic Strips]]
26* 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".
27* In one strip of ''ComicStrip/{{Drabble}}'', Mr. Drabble (the [[TheDitz ditzy father figure]]) sees a car with "wash me" written in the window and thinks it's the most amazing thing ever--[[ComicallyMissingThePoint a car so advanced, it tells its owner when it needs to be washed!]]
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29
30[[folder:Film-Animated]]
31* ''WesternAnimation/TheMitchellsVsTheMachines'': The Mitchel family car has these words written in the dirt on the back window.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
35* ''Series/CornerGas'': In the episode "[[Recap/CornerGasS5E05WashMe 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.
36* Discussed in the episode "Helpless" of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. 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?"
37* ''Series/LastManStanding'': In the episode "Quarterback Boyfriend", Kyle suggests writing "wash Me" on the back window of Mandy's exes truck, [[ItMakesSenseInContext as a way of getting revenge]].
38* ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'': 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".
39* Discussed by the title character in ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'': "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?"
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Video Games]]
43* Early on in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'', you can write "I'm so dirty" + a smiley face on the window of a camper van that belongs to [[spoiler: Frank Bowers]] as [[CollectionSidequest an optional photo]]. If you do so, the graffiti will be there for the rest of the game.
44* In the HiddenObjectGame ''[[VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles 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.
45* In ''VideoGame/DayOfTheTentacle'', 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 [[GuideDangIt a hint that you are supposed to wash the carriage in the past]].
46* Beater variants of the Jackrabbit in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'' have a 15% chance of spawning with the "Wash Me" reverse graffiti [[https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/File:Jackrabbit_Wash_Me.png on the rear window]].
47* In ''VisualNovel/OurLifeBeginningsAndAlways,'' 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.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Web Comics]]
51* In [[http://explosm.net/comics/4072/ this strip]] from ''Webcomic/CyanideAndHappiness'', a vandal writes "wash me" on a dirty car, but gets caught in the act by the owner, who proceeds to [[LiteralMinded wash the vandal]] in the shower.
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54[[folder:Western Animation]]
55* In the episode "Dog Dale Afternoon" of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', [[CloudCuckoolander 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 [[CoverInnocentEyesAndEars tries to cover]] it from Bobby's sight.
56* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': 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.
57[[/folder]]

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