More Awesome Than You!

I am playing the apocalypse challenge, and I have an adult male sim with the following personality:

Neat 9
Outgoing 0
Active 6
Playful 3
Nice 7

He won't sponge bathe autonomously. He moans about stinking and then washes his hands. I don't have any hacks in that interfere with sponge bathing and I don't have the sink that lets you select it as an option. His elder father has this personality:

Neat 9
Outgoing 2
Active 6
Playful 3
Nice 5

And will sponge bathe. His teenage son has both neat and outgoing in the middle and he will too. I only have freestanding sinks (Not kitchen sinks) but the others can manage it so why doesn't he? Is it a personality issue? Or is my sim just being annoying?

I thought sims had to be more on the sloppy side to do the sponge bath thing.

I thought they could all do it, I was just wondering whether if they were too neat or shy that they would refuse, or if it was just my game.

The Prima guide says sponge bath is available to Sims with Sloppy/Neat below 6 and hygiene -50, so you can take that for what it's worth.

Since he's too neat to sponge bathe, try getting the family to groom each other.  A few groom interactions will quickly bring his hygiene up (much faster than hand-washing).  Only teens and older can groom or be groomed.

Primping also raises hygiene a tiny bit if your Sim is alone but like Kyna said, if there is someone else controllable around grooming is much better.

why not just buy him a shower?

Simsfreq probably hasn't unlocked the medicine restriction yet.  Showers are not allowed in the apocalypse challenge before medicine is unlocked.

whoops.  my bad.  I didn't read that part of his post. :-\

So there's a purpose to groom!?!  Thank you for that pearl of wisdom!