It's a Wash is the car wash in Beach City owned and run by Greg Universe. It was first seen in "Laser Light Cannon".
Description[]
It's a Wash is where Greg lives in his van, as it is almost always seen there. How and when he acquired it has not yet been revealed, although it seems to have replaced his occupation as a rock star after some time. As revealed in "Greg the Babysitter", he began working there when Sour Cream was only an infant and before Steven was born.
The exterior of the car wash houses a logo with an elephant presumably dousing itself with water and the business name. It has two main sections with the car wash being in an "L" shape and what seems to be an office adjoined to the wash. The interior of the car wash has only been seen in "Cat Fingers" but the office space has yet to be revealed.
History[]
"Laser Light Cannon"[]
It's a Wash was first seen in this episode, when Steven asks Greg if he knows the whereabouts of Rose's titular Laser Light Cannon.
"Cat Fingers"[]
Steven goes to the car wash to seek Greg's assistance with removing the cats overwhelming his body. Greg and Steven decide to rinse the cats off using the superwash.
"Rose's Room"[]
A recreated version of the car wash appears in the titular Rose's Room (along with the rest of Beach City).
"Steven and the Stevens"[]
The car wash makes an appearance as Steven looks for his father to rehearse for Beach-A-Palooza. When Steven wishes to go back in time to tell Greg that Yellowtail's boat would get stuck, he appears there at the moment before the accident. Due to Steven's distraction, as well as a miscommunication between Greg and Yellowtail, a power line comes down and It's a Wash is partially demolished and set ablaze. Steven undoes this new timeline, causing the boat to get stuck and cause the initial damage.
"House Guest"[]
The Crystal Gems visit the car wash where Pearl repairs Greg's Van.
"Space Race"[]
Steven and Greg watch Crying Breakfast Friends! on TV in front of the wash. Steven then convinces Greg to help him make a spaceship for Pearl.
"Watermelon Steven"[]
The episode begins at the car wash. Greg and Steven eat watermelons and have a seed-spitting contest. The seeds Steven spit all over the ground begin growing into Watermelon Stevens overnight.
"Winter Forecast"[]
The car wash is featured as Steven and Connie trick Greg into dressing up to spend more time together. The time lapse showing his different outfits is long enough for them to build a snowman.
"Shirt Club"[]
Greg offers guitar lessons and has Steven hand out flyers. At the car wash, he sits with his guitar, ready to teach any newcomers.
"Story for Steven"[]
Steven and Greg hangout in the van while it's parked in front of the wash during a rainstorm.
"We Need to Talk"[]
The episode opens with Greg showing Connie and Steven his vinyl collection, and later on, he tells them the story of how he learned about Gem Fusion in his van outside the car wash.
"Keystone Motel"[]
Greg buys car wash brushes through the internet for a very cheap price for the wash and goes to Keystone to pick them up. This leads to the overnight road trip with Steven and Garnet.
"Drop Beat Dad"[]
Steven and Sour Cream stop by the wash on their way to the warehouse to take a restroom break. While waiting for Sour Cream's return, Greg tells Steven that business has been slow there. Then Marty shows up in his tour bus, meeting Greg again since their falling out and his son shortly after.
"Beach City Drift"[]
Greg, Steven, and Connie are at Greg's car wash, admiring his newly-bought Dondai Supremo. Kevin pulls up to get his car cleaned, mentions a race happening in the evening, and drives off without paying, though Greg doesn't mind that much since he's rich now. Steven and Connie voice their dislike of Kevin and decide to participate in the race.
"Greg the Babysitter"[]
Greg tells Steven the story about how he came to work at It's a Wash from babysitting baby Sour Cream. At the time, Greg decided to live independently from Vidalia after babysitting Sour Cream. He found a job at It's a Wash, which was looking for new employees, eventually becoming the owner.
"The New Crystal Gems"[]
Connie, Peridot, Lapis, and Pumpkin use their combined abilities to wash and dry the cars of Beach City citizens. After Lapis and Peridot get into a fight, the car wash sign is destroyed, leading them to make a new one.
"Gemcation"[]
Steven is found at the car wash texting Connie with his phone. Greg is also there, trying to untangle a hose wrapped around him. Steven helps him get the hose off by biting it. Steven then checks his phone, hoping Connie had just texted him back, but sees a text from Ronaldo instead.
"The Big Show"[]
In Steven's recording, Sadie Killer and the Suspects meet up at It's a Wash where they inspect their new shirts promoting the band. Barbara arrives after some time, delivering their fog machine and lasers, and learns her daughter's band will have a show in Empire City, much to her enthusiasm. Barbara leaves after Sadie rebuffs her offers to assist the band, after which Sadie expresses her frustrations to Greg while the others look over the new fog machine.
Trivia[]
- Within the context of business, "a wash" is a business decision which isn't profitable enough to count as a success but isn't costly enough to count as a failure (i.e., breaking even). This possibly references Greg never being seen having much business and not living particularly well himself, but still seemingly earning enough to support Steven.
- It is located at the corner of Waterman and Thayer.
- According to "Steven Universe: Art & Origins", It's a Wash was originally going to be a laundry store called "It's a Fold".
- Background art from "Shirt Club" shows a sign at the entrance door stating the opening hours. While not fully clear on the image due to the small lettering, the opening hours are the same across Monday to Friday, with it also operating on weekends at a different schedule. However AM and PM is not specified.
- The poster seems to suggest that on Mondays-Fridays the opening hours are 8-10. Meanwhile weekends are listed as being open between 12-8. While the numbers 10 and 12 seem legible, the 8 could be some other one ciphered number due to the poor resolution of the image.