Using Sinks Question. ???

no idea but there is a mod to prevent this, if you're ok with using mods. it works flawlessly. not sure why devs won't fix this. http://modthesims.info/d/603052/don-t-wash-dishes-where-you-angry-poop.html

I heard by default the sims use the most expensive sink not the closest one. so I put the most expensive sink in the kitchen and have had mixed results. So I'm not sure if there is a real rhyme or reason to their behavior or if its just RNG.

This was the explanation given by Maxis back when we had a "Tech Talk" thread:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/12637110/#Comment_12637110

"SimGuruMax;c-12637110" wrote:

"BarbaricSpaceWhale;12636496" wrote:
@SimGuruMax Do Sims prioritize sinks in the same room they cooked the food in? That seems to be a good solution since there are sinks in nearly all kitchens. If not, as long as it's feasible it seems like it's worth doing.

It's not that simple, but the short answer is that they will prefer closer objects to those that are farther away. Keep in mind that this system needs to work for all cases as we tried to make it as general and extensible as possible. The same system tells your Sims where to clean dishes as the one that tells them where to sit to eat, so the tech has a lot of masters and a lot of use-cases. We try not to special-case anything and let our design team get creative with the special-sauce like this (it is possible to add special scoring in some cases).

We will probably address this eventually but we also have a lot of other things to integrate into our system right now and we have to prioritize.

There's more discussion buried in there, if you want to weed through it. But, it sounds like the mod @taydev mentioned might be decent fix already.

Actually my sims also prefer to wash dishes on a bathroom or their upstair bathroom than a closer one in the kitchen, it's not about which sinks are cheaper, I put the expensive one on a kitchen they still dont use it until I move the sinks to be really really close to where they usually eat.

"taydev;c-17056666" wrote:
no idea but there is a mod to prevent this, if you're ok with using mods. it works flawlessly. not sure why devs won't fix this. http://modthesims.info/d/603052/don-t-wash-dishes-where-you-angry-poop.html

I find the name of this mod amusing. :D

I got tired of the sink-issues also (same with the constant drinking of water from the same sinks). So now every house I play have dishwashers and absolutely no sinks. First thing I do when playing a house, is sell all the sinks (same with any other object I know will turn out to be an annoyance, like Doll houses and high chairs). In my own builds, I just don't place them.

It may not be realistic, but at least my play time is more or less frustration free.

I had sims that would cook food in the kitchen and then go to the bathroom to place the plate down on a better counter top. I learned not to have my bathrooms so close to the kitchen. The sink thing drives me crazy sometimes.

I think its because every room gets automatically classified as a kitchen. I think this cuz whenever I go to save a room, kitchen is the default option they save as and I'm not 100% sure but i think if you save the rooms near the kitchen (or bathroom) as something else, your sim will be more likely not to wander to a different sink. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt so I'm not sure if its just chance but its worth a try.

I think quality of the sink matters too. If a sim has a bad bathroom sink and a nice kitchen one just a room ocer they may be more inclined to use the better one.

"sawdust;d-959078" wrote:
I'm at a complete loss as to why the Sims don't use the sink in the kitchen (see pic below) only five feet away from the table they eat at but will go to the other end of the house to use the bathroom sink and if that one's in use, will go upstairs to use the other bathroom. They can access the kitchen sink for all else when directed (ie, wash hands, clean teeth, get water). Can anyone please explain why it's not coded to use the nearest sink?

https://i.imgur.com/yHxywgw.jpg

This is one of my biggest frustrations, too! I think we should be able to set "wash dishes here" -- like how a sim can "claim" a bed. I didn't know there was a mod to fix it. Guess I will grab that!

Thanks everyone for your comments/suggestions. Looks like another mod will have to fix what should never have been so complex in the first place. A simple command on the sinks to "wash dishes" would avoid all this frustration.

Thanks @greenXen for this: .... but it really doesn't explain anything and it simply isn't true. I've done testing in other builds, swapping out sinks to try and find the pattern but it baffles me every time. Unfortunately I have found that typical of EA explanations.

It's not that simple, but the short answer is that they will prefer closer objects to those that are farther away. Keep in mind that this system needs to work for all cases as we tried to make it as general and extensible as possible. The same system tells your Sims where to clean dishes as the one that tells them where to sit to eat, so the tech has a lot of masters and a lot of use-cases. We try not to special-case anything and let our design team get creative with the special-sauce like this (it is possible to add special scoring in some cases).

We will probably address this eventually but we also have a lot of other things to integrate into our system right now and we have to prioritize.