List of House Malfunctions

What kinds of malfunctions occur in Virtual Families 3?

As in any home, there will be occasional malfunctions in your little family’s house ranging from minor problems that the family members can fix themselves, with the right tools, to major malfunctions that will require them to call a professional to resolve the problem. 

 

Minor malfunctions, such as a leaks, clogs, or small appliance fires, can be handled by the family. They will need the appropriate tools or equipment to take care of these maintenance tasks. See the list of malfunctions, below, to see how to handle each one.

 

Major malfunctions, such as cable or Internet being down, broken appliances, etc., will require the help of a professional repair technician. For those issues, drop an adult on the phone and choose the appropriate technician from the list. See the list of malfunctions, below, for specific information about each of the six major malfunctions.

 

Once the malfunction has been resolved, it can sometimes take an additional minute or two for other family members to realize that the problem has been fixed. If it bothers you, you can always pick them up and drop them after the repair is complete to "snap" them out of it.

Resolving House and Yard Malfunctions

• How do I fix a leaky sink?
  

  Place a person age 14 or older on the Household Tool Set (purchased from the Furniture/Accessories section of the store) or drop them in a workroom, if they have one, and they will fix the leak.

• How do I repair a clogged shower or toilet?
  

  Place a person age 14 or older on the Household Tool Set (purchased from the Furniture/Accessories section of the store) or drop them in a workroom, if they have one, and they will remove the clog.

• How do I repair a burst pipe?
  

  Your little family will need to call a plumber to repair the burst pipe. Place a person age 14 or older on the telephone in the office and tap the Call button for the plumber to have them come to the house and repair the pipe.

• How do I put out a dryer/oven fire?
  

  Place a person age 14 or older on the fire extinguisher (purchased from the Furniture/Accessories section of the store), and they will put out the fire.

• The Internet is down. How do I fix it?
  

  Your little family will need to call an Internet repair person to restore Internet service. Place a person age 14 or older on the telephone in the office and tap the Call button for the Internet repair person, who will come to the house and repair the problem.

• Cable TV is down. How do I fix it?
  

  Your little family will need to call a Cable TV repair person to restore the family’s cable TV service. Place a person age 14 or older on the telephone in the office and tap the Call button for the Cable TV repair person, who will come to the house and repair the problem.

• The computers aren’t working. How do I fix them?
  

  Your little family will need to call a computer repair person to fix them. Place a person age 14 or older on the telephone in the office and tap the Call button for the computer repair person, who will come to the house and fix the problem.

• How do I fix a broken appliance?
  

  When there is an appliance malfunction, you will need to call an appliance repair person to fix it. Place a person age 14 or older on the phone in the office and tap the Call button for the appliance repair person to have them come to the house and fix the broken appliance.

• How do I get rid of the bugs in the kitchen?
  

  When there is a bug infestation, you will need to call an exterminator to deal with them. Place a person age 14 or older on the phone in the office and tap the Call button for the exterminator to have them come and remove the infestation. 

• How do I get rid of the sock(s) near the bathroom toilet?
  

  Purchase a washing machine for your family (purchased from the Furniture/Appliances section of the store), then place a family member on the sock pile to have them take the pile of socks to the washing machine to be laundered.

• The flowers and lawns are turning brown. How do I fix that?
  

  Flowers and lawns need water to keep them looking beautiful. To water them, place a person on the spigot that’s located in or near the flower beds and lawns to turn on the sprinklers. You can also purchase Automatic Sprinklers to keep the lawns and flowers in peak condition automatically. 

• How do I deal with the dirt mounds in the yard?
  

  They are part of a special set of collectibles. Before you can collect what’s hidden under them you’ll need to purchase the Rockhound Certificate, which can be found occasionally in the Flea Market section of the store. The items in the Flea Market are random and change regularly, so check regularly to make sure you don’t miss the certificate.