If your Sim’s apartment smells bad and they’re getting the Unsettled by Odor buff, the first thing to do is find the green stink cloud.
The problem is that the source isn’t always obvious, especially in apartments.
A useful trick is to build a small square around the area where the smell seems to be coming from. Then delete the square.
If the odor is coming from an object hidden in that area, this can sometimes remove the source along with it.
If your Sim lives in a Needs TLC apartment, the bad smell is part of the lot trait. The green stink cloud can come from something hidden under the rug, and you can’t permanently get rid of it.
You can clean the area whenever the smell appears, but it will eventually come back.
You can also call the landlord and ask them to deal with the problem.
Dirty plates are another common source of mysterious smells.
If you’re using the TOOL mod, you may have accidentally resized a plate so much that it’s difficult to see. Dirty plates can also end up inside walls if you’ve been changing the apartment’s layout.
If you think the smell is coming from a wall, try deleting the wall. If that doesn’t work, delete the floor in that area as well.
Also check shelves and other places where Sims like to leave dirty dishes. Your Sim may have put a plate somewhere and completely forgotten about it.
There’s another little trick worth trying if you can’t find the source. Put a dirty plate close to the area where the smell is coming from and tell your Sim to clean it up.
Sometimes they may end up cleaning the surrounding mess as well.
If the smell sticks around for long enough, your Sim can get the Filthy Surroundings moodlet, which makes them even more Tense.
So if your Sim keeps complaining that something smells awful, it’s worth hunting down the source rather than simply waiting for it to disappear.
With apartment smells, the culprit can be surprisingly well hidden.