Hygiene

“	Keeping clean is easy with regular showers or baths, but little things like brushing your teeth and washing your hands matters too.	”
	— The Sims 3

Hygiene is a motive in The Sims series. A Sim's hygiene will gradually decrease over the course of the day, and will decrease faster if they are engaged in messy activities. Therefore, it is necessary to take a bath or shower regularly in order to keep the motive up—a hot tub also works, but not as well. Washing one's hands after going to the bathroom also improves this rating, as does brushing teeth or gussying up in the mirror. In order to facilitate the latter activities, be sure to have a medicine cabinet, a mirror, and a sink.

Activities that decrease hygiene

Some activities or events cause a Sim's hygiene need to decrease faster then normal. Some examples are:

• Most forms of exercise unless a Sim uses the "Don't Break a Sweat" tone or has the Gym Rat reward trait.
• If a Sim's bladder need bottoms out, they will pee themselves which will instantly bottom out the hygiene meter.
• Being near a fire. In The Sims, only extinguishing a fire will cause a Sim's hygiene to decrease.
• In The Sims 2 (console), standing next to a pile of trash will cause a Sim's hygiene to decrease much faster than normal.

Hygiene on community lots

Most community lots will not have any ways of increasing hygiene other than sinks. In The Sims: Superstar, some Studio Town lots have steam baths and hot tubs, but none of them boosts hygiene sufficiently. Therefore, it's best to get the hygiene meter as full as possible before going out.

Bathing and showering isn't a problem when on vacation, as most lots in vacation destinations will have showers or bathtubs available. Lots that offer massages, saunas, or hot springs may have bathrooms with showers. Markets in foreign destinations will sell showers in a can, which can be used to quickly replenish hygiene while adventuring.

Hygiene and other life states

Servos, PlantSims, SimBots, mermaids, and Plumbots have no hygiene motive, though PlantSims and mermaids have a water and hydration motive in place of hygiene. Bigfoot is largely indifferent to his own hygiene, and will not bathe unless directed to by the player.

Other ways of affecting hygiene

The Sims

In Makin' Magic, magical children can use the No More Puddles? charm to take a magical "bubble bath". For adults, the Magic Mood charm can boost all motives, including hygiene.

The Sims 2

Teens and older can use the primp self-interaction in order to get a slight hygiene boost.

Sims with less than two neat points will take a sponge bath at the nearest sink if their hygiene meter drops to the point where they begin to stink. This action is completely autonomous and cannot be prompted, nor will the action come up again if the player interrupts it. Sponge baths will raise a Sim's hygiene bar to around 75%.

In FreeTime, Sims can purchase an aspiration benefit to decrease the rate of decay for both the hygiene and bladder motives by 12%. Romance Sims have an additional benefit that reduces the decay by another 12%.

In Apartment Life, the good spell Benemoodus Simaethe increases all of the motives including hygiene, while the neutral spell Cleanus Corpus only boosts hygiene.

The Sims 2 (console)

The Zombie Monkey Paw is an item that can be found when searching through a couch. It will max out a random need, including hygiene.

The Sims 3

Sim can buy the Dirt Defiant lifetime reward (for 15,000 Lifetime Happiness points), which will make it take longer before the Sim with that reward has to take another bath.

Sims with the inappropriate trait have the option to take a sponge bath at any sink. Unlike The Sims 2, the player can direct Sims to do this.

In Ambitions, Sims can invent the Floor Hygienator, which is placed on the floor and improves hygiene levels slightly when walked over.

In Showtime, genies can magically clean a Sim, which increases hygiene.

In Supernatural, witches can cast Hygiene Charm and Hygiene Curse to increase or decrease hygiene.

In Into the Future, using the Power Cleanse option on a Sonic Shower provides the Pristine Protection moodlet for Sims that has the future sim hidden trait, which stops hygiene decay for 5 hours.

The Sims 4

In The Sims 4, a Sim can buy a special potion from the aspiration reward store for 100 satisfaction points, which will immediately fill the hygiene need. The Antiseptic trait can also be bought for 3000 satisfaction points, which makes the Sims hygiene meter decay slower. Lastly, the Forever Fresh trait can be bought for 8000 satisfaction points, which will permanently max out the hygiene need.

Pets

Pets, like Sims, have hygiene motives and need to be fulfilled. Cats will clean themselves, but dogs will need to be washed by a Sim, which can sometimes be hard if a dog likes to be dirty. In Unleashed there are dog baths for dogs, but in The Sims 2: Pets dogs will need to be washed in regular bathtubs. When the dog jumps out of the bathtub, they will leave a puddle behind, so it's handy to have a mop ready for that as well.

Hygiene moodlets

The Sims 3

Image	Moodlet Name	Mood Effect	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes	EP
	Grungy	-5	4 hours	Low Hygiene Need	Yuck! That layer of grime growing might mean it's time for a bath or shower.	When moodlet runs out, it switches to Smelly. Lasts 16 hours with Dirt Defiant Lifetime Reward. No mood effect for Slobs.
	Smelly	-10	Until you shower or take a bath.	Very Low Hygiene Need	Sims don't like to stink. More importantly, Sims don't like other Sims that stink.	Will stay until Sim takes a shower/bath. No mood effect for Slobs. Appears quickly when working out or peeing self. Can badly affect social. Sims who walk by get the disgusted moodlet	&BG
	Squeaky Clean	+10	7 hours	High Hygiene Need	Experience the clean sensation of practicing personal hygiene!	Lasts 28 hours (shows as 2 Days) with Dirt Defiant Lifetime Reward.	&BG
	Favored Cleansing	+10	1 hour	Sonic Shower	A washing in the Sonic Shower by waves of his/her favorite color lets (Sim Name) feel extra-fresh!	Can be gained by using the Sonic Shower, if the wave color is the same as the Sim's favorite color.	&EP11
	Pristine Protection	+10	5 hours	Sonic Shower	A powerful cleansing from the Sonic Shower scrubbed (Sim Name) sparkling clean. He/She won't need to worry about getting dirty for a while!	Stops hygiene decay. Can only appear by using the "Power Cleanse" option with a sonic shower, and the moodlet only appears if the Sim has the future sim hidden trait.	&EP11

Image	Moodlet Name	Mood Effect	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes	EP
	Dehydrated	-30	N/A	Low Water Need	PlantSims need plenty of water to function, and (Sim Name) is running dry! Go get some water to keep those fluids moving!	PlantSims only	&EP09
	Hydrated	+30	N/A	High Water Need	So many Sims pay close attention to nutrition, sleep and exercise. (Sim Name) has his priorities straight: hydration is paramount!	PlantSims only	&EP09

Image	Moodlet Name	Mood Effect	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes	EP
	Chapped	No Mood Effect	3 Hours	Low Hydration Need	Feeling a little dry and uncomfortable...	Mermaids only. Changes to "Flakey" when timer expires.	&EP10
	Flakey	-40	12 Hours	Very Low Hydration Need	Ewww, bits of skin are flaking off... maybe some water would help?	Mermaids only. Changes to "Dehydrated" when timer expires. The mermaid will also pass out when expired.	&EP10
	Dehydrated	-80	3 Hours	Critically Low Hydration Need	Dehydration is deadly to a mermaid! Soak up some water immediately or else...	Mermaids only. When moodlet runs out, the mermaid will die of dehydration.	&EP10

The Sims 4

Image	Moodlet Name	Effect	Emotion	Time Period	From	Game Dialog/Description	Notes	EP
	Grungy	1	Uncomfortable	5 Hours	Low Hygiene	Definitely some dirt buildup occurring.	Changes to "Filthy" when timer expires.	&BG
	Filthy	2	Uncomfortable	Until Sim takes a shower or bath	Low Hygiene	Disgusted by poor hygiene. Oh, the stench!		&BG
	Grubby	1	Uncomfortable	Until Sim takes a shower or bath	Low Hygiene	A little dirty, but so is everything out here.	Replaces "Grungy" and "Filthy" while in Granite Falls if the Sim does not have the Neat trait.	&GP01