Sims won't use Dishwasher (fixed in 1.11)

WinMacSims3 · August 2015

I have a problem with Sims not using the dishwasher. I've posted the thread on The Sims 4 Bug Reports.

It appears that if a sink happens to be closer than the dishwasher, the Sims will use the sink instead of the dishwasher. The reason the problem occurs is the game chooses the object to clean with based on distance between Sim and the object and the game also doesn't take rooms in consideration. As seen in the screenshot below, the sink in the bathroom is closer than the dishwasher so the game chooses the sink. However, placing the dishwasher on the left counter had the Sim use the dishwasher.

TS4%20Dishwasher%20problem.png?psid=1

This can be a problem depending on your house. If the house has a bathroom closer to the dining table, chances are the Sim won't use the dishwasher. In my mansion, Sims wouldn't use the dishwasher unless I moved it. I know this can be annoying and I don't think TS3 had this problem with the dishwashers.

isitachimi · August 2015

it should be prioritized if the dish washer is free and available to use that over a sink unless if the dishwasher is running.

GamerPresh · August 2015

Thanks for stating this. That sucks though, because now you have to make sure your dishwasher is closer than any surrounding sinks. At least I know now!

rosemow · August 2015

Thankyou for letting us know what you have discovered. It will be helpful for simmers when placing their dishwashers.

RebeccaEMann · August 2015

I have also noticed that even if you click on the dishwasher and choose the "load the dishwasher" option, they will still use the sink instead. In my game, I actually deleted all the sinks except for one, and placed it across the lot. The sim still uses the sink instead of the dishwasher. I also had my husband load his game on a different computer, and the sims still chose to use the sink rather than the dishwasher when cleaning.

Simmer7802 · August 2015

I actually had the dishwasher closer than the sink and yet my sim still chose to wash it at the sink and the dishwasher wasn't in use and they only use it if I tell them to load the dishwasher.

sunquo · August 2015

Simmer7802 wrote: »

I actually had the dishwasher closer than the sink and yet my sim still chose to wash it at the sink and the dishwasher wasn't in use and they only use it if I tell them to load the dishwasher.

Same here. My dishwasher is closer than the sink and my sim still uses the sink. I took the sink out but now the sim walks way to the bathroom to use that sink. I finally took that sink out as well, so there is no choice but to use the dishwasher. Really annoying.

WinMacSims3 · August 2015

I was gonna add what @RebeccaEMann said but another made a post about clicking Load Dishwashers makes Sims is merged. I also heard from my thread that it appears that the Sim only uses the Sink if there's only one plate/bowl but they'll use the dishwasher for multiple plates/bowls.

WinMacSims3 · August 2015

sunquo wrote: »

Simmer7802 wrote: »

I actually had the dishwasher closer than the sink and yet my sim still chose to wash it at the sink and the dishwasher wasn't in use and they only use it if I tell them to load the dishwasher.

Same here. My dishwasher is closer than the sink and my sim still uses the sink. I took the sink out but now the sim walks way to the bathroom to use that sink. I finally took that sink out as well, so there is no choice but to use the dishwasher. Really annoying.

I get the same result. I placed the sink in the inventory but the Sim choose to use the other sink. It looks like that the Sim will prioritize the sink over the dishwasher for one plate/bowl regardless of how close the dishwasher is. If I recall in The Sims 3, Sims always used the dishwasher regardless of the amount of plates/bowls but this doesn't seem to be the case in TS4. Due to this behavior, this makes dishwashers less useful than in previous games.

rosemow · August 2015

It is helpful to know that the amount of plates/dishes that are used alters whether a sink or the dishwasher is used. By the posts that have been posted on these threads, it is helping to understand more about how dishwashers work in the game. Thank you to everyone who is posting

ClaimingTheFifth · August 2015

Am I the only one who regretfully now believes that 1) EA Sims developers never play the game 2) No one ever beta tests....?

Arox312 · August 2015

I was wondering on why my sims were using the sink instead of the dishwasher! LOL, silly sims. I'd use the dishwasher everytime then wash them myself

WinMacSims3 · August 2015

Well if you remove all sinks on a lot, the Sim won't even use the dishwasher unless you tell them to clean it. Even if there happens to be other plates/bowls, the Sim only cleans their own plates/bowls when finished eating.

ClaimingTheFifth wrote: »

Am I the only one who regretfully now believes that 1) EA Sims developers never play the game 2) No one ever beta tests....?

I would ask the same question. I hope a SimGuru could solve the confusion because it can be an issue for people used to The Sims 3.

ceejay402 · August 2015

I have my dishwasher right next to my kitchen sink and my sims always use the dishwasher.

What others reported to work: remove all sinks from the house, replace dishwasher and queue a clean. Afterwards you should be able to add back sinks to house and have your sims continue to use the dishwasher

Also clicking on the dishwasher to queue it up instead of the sink works for others, HTH

rosemow · August 2015

ceejay402 wrote: »

I have my dishwasher right next to my kitchen sink and my sims always use the dishwasher.

What others reported to work: remove all sinks from the house, replace dishwasher and queue a clean. Afterwards you should be able to add back sinks to house and have your sims continue to use the dishwasher

Also clicking on the dishwasher to queue it up instead of the sink works for others, HTH

Thanks very much for the helpful info ceejay

ClaimingTheFifth · August 2015

I went into one of my original builds - EA cabinets etc - to upgrade. Before I ever even got to dishwashers, the Sim suddenly washed his dish in the bathroom sink instead of the kitchen sink which was much closer. This bathroom sink business had to come with the dw update. It seems to me that the developers screwed up on the priority settings. When I then installed a dw, he uses it and the kitchen sink about 50/50. I don't have a problem with that - I do have a problem with his skittering all the way to the opposite side of the house to the bathroom sink!

rosemow · August 2015

ClaimingTheFifth wrote: »

I went into one of my original builds - EA cabinets etc - to upgrade. Before I ever even got to dishwashers, the Sim suddenly washed his dish in the bathroom sink instead of the kitchen sink which was much closer. This bathroom sink business had to come with the dw update. It seems to me that the developers screwed up on the priority settings. When I then installed a dw, he uses it and the kitchen sink about 50/50. I don't have a problem with that - I do have a problem with his skittering all the way to the opposite side of the house to the bathroom sink!

Hello @ClaimingTheFifth.
This EA Bug thread link refers to your issue with sims using the bathroom sink. You may like to press "me too" or post your experiences there.
http://answers.ea.com/t5/The-Sims-4-Bug-Reports/Routing-issue-when-preparing-food-Counters-priority/m-p/3446151#M12

emberelf · August 2015

For me, it didn't matter where my sink was, my sim always wanted to use it instead of the dishwasher. I left a post about this in the bug section. My sim would be eating in the kitchen, near the dishwasher. There is no sink anywhere nearby..not even on that floor. So what does my sim do after eating? She decides to clean up the dish by going UPSTAIRS to use the sink to clean it, instead of the properly placed, not running dishes already, perfectly free dishwasher. I had deleted that dishwasher, bought a new one, but no fix. Don't know if my sim is a closet technophobe or what but its kinda irritating, and funny at the same time. I'm beginning to think its the closet EA gnomes. You know, the ones that started all the mismatched color swatches for items in build and buy modes. Yah, I think its them =P

rosemow · August 2015

emberelf wrote: »

For me, it didn't matter where my sink was, my sim always wanted to use it instead of the dishwasher. I left a post about this in the bug section. My sim would be eating in the kitchen, near the dishwasher. There is no sink anywhere nearby..not even on that floor. So what does my sim do after eating? She decides to clean up the dish by going UPSTAIRS to use the sink to clean it, instead of the properly placed, not running dishes already, perfectly free dishwasher. I had deleted that dishwasher, bought a new one, but no fix. Don't know if my sim is a closet technophobe or what but its kinda irritating, and funny at the same time. I'm beginning to think its the closet EA gnomes. You know, the ones that started all the mismatched color swatches for items in build and buy modes. Yah, I think its them =P

Hello.
Perhaps try doing what ceejay suggested and see if that helps. I will quote it.

What others reported to work: remove all sinks from the house, replace dishwasher and queue a clean. Afterwards you should be able to add back sinks to house and have your sims continue to use the dishwasher

Also clicking on the dishwasher to queue it up instead of the sink works for others, HTH

WinMacSims3 · August 2015

It occurs they coded the AI differently compared to previous games. In The Sims 3, the dishwasher would be used if one is present regardless of about of plate/bowls to clean.

However, in The Sims 4, Sims won't use dishwashers autonomously. If there's a sink when Sims are finished eating, they'll use it. Simmers also say that the Sims will use the sink regardless of distance between the plate/bowl and sink. In addition, removing all sinks on lots also doesn't have Sims use the dishwasher to clean a dirty plate/bowl when finished eating. It seems that the Sims will only use the dishwasher if you tell them to clean it.

WinMacSims3 · September 2015

It looks like The Sims 4 version 1.11 has fixed this. Sims will prefer using the Dishwasher instead of the Sink. Here's the video for comparsion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRGKVcDXmKw

rosemow · September 2015

It is great that the patch has fixed the dishwasher issue that some simmers were experiencing.

Skyfri_Himmel · June 2016

I am actually having this issue again now. I placed the dishwasher earlier today, which is about 10 sim days ago, and still they have only used the sinks. Not the dishwasher. It's like it is invisible to them.

rosemow · June 2016

Skyfri_Himmel wrote: »

I am actually having this issue again now. I placed the dishwasher earlier today, which is about 10 sim days ago, and still they have only used the sinks. Not the dishwasher. It's like it is invisible to them.

Hello.
Try moving the dishwasher to another postion in the room and see if that helps the issue. If there are any items that have been placed using the moo cheat nearby, remove them. Check there are no routing issues or overhanging items .

Skyfri_Himmel · June 2016

rosemow wrote: »

Skyfri_Himmel wrote: »

I am actually having this issue again now. I placed the dishwasher earlier today, which is about 10 sim days ago, and still they have only used the sinks. Not the dishwasher. It's like it is invisible to them.

Hello.
Try moving the dishwasher to another postion in the room and see if that helps the issue. If there are any items that have been placed using the moo cheat nearby, remove them. Check there are no routing issues or overhanging items .

Ah thanks! That helped. I just moved it to a different location and now they are using it. I didn't have anything hanging above it nor did i have anything around it placed with moo cheat.

rosemow · June 2016

Skyfri_Himmel wrote: »

rosemow wrote: »

Skyfri_Himmel wrote: »

I am actually having this issue again now. I placed the dishwasher earlier today, which is about 10 sim days ago, and still they have only used the sinks. Not the dishwasher. It's like it is invisible to them.

Hello.
Try moving the dishwasher to another postion in the room and see if that helps the issue. If there are any items that have been placed using the moo cheat nearby, remove them. Check there are no routing issues or overhanging items .

Ah thanks! That helped. I just moved it to a different location and now they are using it. I didn't have anything hanging above it nor did i have anything around it placed with moo cheat.

I am glad that the sims are using the dishwasher now

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Sims won't use Dishwasher (fixed in 1.11)

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