Service NPC Vacuuming Fix

Allows maids and butlers to clean up dusty homes with their own vacuum cleaner.

Bug

Service NPCs you can hire to clean your homes, such as maids and butlers, will not vacuum when the home gets dusty.

I’ve heard that people said that maids using vacuums worked at the time Bust the Dust kit was released, and it stopped working at some point. The maids generate their own personal vacuums which they keep in their inventory, but can’t seem to use them. They also don’t use vacuums you gift them or ones that you provide around the home. You can read more about this bug on EA Answers HQ: Maid doesn’t clean dust and Butler does not vacuum or dust.

This mod tweaks some of the autonomy tuning for the interactions that start vacuum actions and allows maids to use the vacuums from their inventory when they are on a dusty floor of the house. It also allows butlers from Vintage Glamour stuff to do the same while they are in their maid duties mode. You don’t need to provide a vacuum, the maids and butlers can generate their own personal ones. They will also seek and destroy dust bunnies and dust fiends (but should ignore ones that you’ve befriended).

Notes

  • This mod is for people who own The Sims 4 Bust the Dust kit on PC/Mac with update 1.77.146.1030 (July 2021) or later installed.
  • This mod changes the interaction tuning for starting vacuum cleaning, and the interaction maids use to generate their own vacuums. It also changes the base game “collect trash” object picker to also include dust piles and the butler’s maid role buff to allow them to generate a vacuum cleaner for themselves. If you have any other mods that affect the same tuning files, they may clash with this mod.
  • The maids and butlers use upright vacuum cleaners, so there may need to be enough free floor space to work properly. Also, they might not be able to interact with dust bunnies that are in tight areas or facing the wall, as they need to be able to move in front of them. If that’s the case, you can pick up and move dust bunnies to a clear area in build mode.
  • The maids and butlers should use their own personal vacuums which they generate in their own inventories. They won’t be able to use the ones you provide around the house because I think they game tests if the sim owns the vacuum before allowing a sim to use it.
  • Updated 30 August 2021: tweaked the way service NPCs handle dust bunnies and dust piles – they will now move nearby and start vacuuming the floor, rather than try to vacuum up the objects directly.

Downloading and installing the mod

Download the mod package file and place it in your Mods folder for The Sims 4, found in Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4 > Mods.

You can check the compatibility with the latest game update on the mod status overview page.

Like this mod? You can support me at buymeacoffee.com/galactrix

9 thoughts on “Service NPC Vacuuming Fix”

  1. For some reason the maids don’t clean the dust like before I put this mod in? Especially when the dust is on the second floor. I’m not sure why 🙁

  2. For some reason the maids still don’t recognize my dust? They take the trash out and everything and then leave. However when I had a butler they recognized the dust and started vacuuming so I’m not sure if I’m doing something?

    1. The mod makes the maid and butler walk near any dust piles and dust bunnies and start vacuuming. I made it do this so that they’d find dust on other floors of the house. If you clean up the dust piles yourself or destroy dust bunnies, then they won’t be able to find the dust.

      If this maid was around before you put the mod in, then they probably have a bugged vacuum cleaner in their inventory that they can’t use – that’s part of the bug and why maids don’t clean dust. You can try gifting the maid a new upright vacuum or if you can purge the maid’s inventory and destroy the old vacuum they are carrying, then they should be able to generate a new working vacuum. Or you could delete the maid and let the game generate a new one.

  3. I noticed on updates all mods says hasn’t been tested since 1.80.69.1030 should I remove all mods or has that message itself just not been updated?

    1. The 1.80.69.1030 update was only released yesterday, so I put that message temporarily up as a disclaimer while I gave myself some time to run the game and have a look.

      Generally you don’t need to remove my mods when an update happens, as none of them are script mods and they don’t usually break.

      I only managed to play with the new patch for about an hour and I’ve just checked my game folder and there are no exception errors, so I’ve updated the status page.

      1. Oh your right lol I looked at the number wrong I was looking at the MAC one and thought it was several behind. I do not even use a mac now I feel like an idiot lol

  4. Hi, I love your fixes. 🙂
    Would you please add to this fix that the maids are vacuumed to the perfect level and on every floor? They only vacuum on one floor in two-, three-story houses and only up to the light level. (I don’t have experience about butlers.)

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