Probably Stolen water can look perfectly clean until a test strip tells you otherwise. One bad purchase can chew through your Water Filters and leave you with a jug nobody wants to buy. The trick is knowing what you’re dealing with before spending a single credit on purification.
Water Trading starts with basic supplies, but things get more interesting once you unlock the Moisture Farm and Water Purifier. I’ll walk you through getting clean water, using the right equipment, and turning it into a profitable business without wasting money on unnecessary upgrades.
Table of Contents
Water Purity Grades and Percentages
Water in Probably Stolen has six quality grades, determined by its purity percentage. Even a tiny difference matters. A container sitting at 98.9% is still Basewater, while reaching 99% upgrades it to High-Quality Water.
| Water grade | Purity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Water | 99.9%–100% | Highest water grade |
| High-Quality Water | 99%–below 99.9% | Suitable for Upper Levels consumption |
| Basewater | 98%–below 99% | Lower Levels standard |
| Ghostwater | 96%–below 98% | Looks cleaner than it actually is |
| Rustwater | 90%–below 96% | Visibly contaminated water |
| Gutterflow | Below 90% | Highly toxic water |
Ghostwater is particularly tricky since it can look perfectly fine. Always check the actual purity with Water Testing Strips instead of trusting the container’s appearance or label.
Higher-quality water can sell for more, but purity alone doesn’t determine the final price. Customer requirements and market events also affect what you’ll get.
How to Get Water in Probably Stolen
If you picked the Water Merchant starting occupation, you already have water-trading equipment. Otherwise, unlock Water Trading through Wild’s Network. The project has a base cost of 300 credits before applicable modifiers.
You’ll receive a starter kit and unlock visits from Water Traders. Place the Water Neon Sign in your store’s Display Case to attract customers offering water for sale.
You can also get water from:
- Water Rations: Pour their contents into a suitable container.
- Gutterflow and Rustwater taps: Unlockable through Wild’s Network. Their water purity can change daily.
- Moisture Farm: Produces water automatically using energy.
I’d check every container before buying it. A cheap jug of contaminated water isn’t such a great deal when the cleanup costs more than the water itself.
How to Purify Water in Probably Stolen
Purifying water is fairly straightforward when you understand what each tool does. The important part is matching the treatment to the contamination rather than throwing every cleaning item at the same jug.
Early-Game Water Purification Steps
- Get some water from a trader or another unlocked source.
- Test its purity with Water Testing Strips. Use AquaScan to identify the contaminants.
- Treat the contamination. A UV Lamp handles microbes, while Water Purification Tablets work on eligible microbial and chemical impurities.
- Filter the water by placing a Water Filter inside a Water Pitcher and pouring the water through it.
- Test it again to see whether its purity has improved. Update the container’s label if necessary before selling.
You shouldn’t expect every batch to become High-Quality Water after one round. The result depends on what’s contaminating it.
Water Purification Tools and Their Uses
| Tool | Main purpose |
|---|---|
| Water Testing Strips / AquaScan | Check purity and identify contamination |
| UV Lamp | Treat microbial contamination |
| Water Purification Tablets | Treat microbes and certain chemicals |
| Water Filter | Remove eligible filterable impurities |
| HydraTech Micro Water Purifier | Raise dirty water to 98% Basewater |
| Powered Water Purifier | Process water overnight to reach higher purity |
The handheld HydraTech Micro Water Purifier only brings water up to Basewater. It won’t turn your jug into Pure Water, no matter how much you wish it would.
You also don’t need Kotton Fabric for drinking-water purification. It’s too coarse for the job and is intended for straining larger particles during chemistry processing.
How to Make Pure Water With the Water Purifier
The powered Water Purifier is your main option for producing Pure Water. It processes water overnight using energy, and Quality modules determine how pure the final batch can become.
The October 28 water-balance update changed the machine’s purification logic, so the Quality thresholds matter more than old upgrade combinations.
To use the purifier, insert a water container and provide enough energy. Install the Quality modules you need, then end the day to begin overnight processing.
Water Purifier Quality Upgrades and Maximum Purity
| Quality bonus | Maximum purity |
|---|---|
| Below +15 | 99% |
| +15 to +24 | 99.15% |
| +25 to +49 | 99.35% |
| +50 to +74 | 99.65% |
| +75 to +99 | 99.8% |
| +100 to +199 | 99.9% |
| +200 or higher | 100% |
Aim for +100 Quality if you want Pure Water. That raises the machine’s purity ceiling to 99.9%, the minimum required for that grade.
Quality sets the maximum purity, while Performance determines how much contamination gets processed. Efficiency affects energy consumption.
Keep in mind that the table shows maximum purity, not guaranteed overnight results. Some batches need additional processing before reaching the machine’s limit.
Moisture Farm: Automatic Water Production
Buying water from traders works early on, but a Moisture Farm gives you another way to keep stock coming in.
It collects water from ambient moisture and deposits it into a receiving container overnight. You’ll need energy and enough free container capacity for it to work.
The October 28 update reduced the farm’s base price from 650 to 350 credits. An unmodified farm can generate approximately 850 ml per night under suitable conditions.
There’s also a catch with multiple farms. They share the available ambient moisture, so building another machine doesn’t automatically double production.
Moisture Farm Upgrades: Quality vs. Performance
| Module stat | Effect |
|---|---|
| Quality | Improves the purity of generated water |
| Performance | Increases production volume |
| Efficiency | Reduces energy requirements |
Quality is worth looking at when you want to reduce the amount of purification needed afterward. Performance helps when your problem is simply not having enough water to sell.
I’d start with one working Moisture Farm, check the water it produces, and upgrade based on what the business actually needs. There’s no reason to spend a fortune on Performance if you’re already struggling to sell your current stock.
Water Purification Not Working? Common Fixes
If your water business suddenly stops cooperating, check these common issues before replacing equipment.
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Water grade won’t increase | Check the exact purity and remaining contaminants |
| Water Filter stops improving water | Inspect durability and filterable impurities |
| Water Purifier won’t make Pure Water | Check the Quality bonus and maximum-purity cap |
| Moisture Farm produces no water | Check energy and receiving-container capacity |
| Customer refuses your water | Check accepted grades, actual purity, and buyer budget |
One easy mistake is trusting an old container label. The actual purity can change without the label matching it, so use your testing equipment before assuming something broke.
Why Water Filters Stop Working
Water Filters have limited durability, and heavily contaminated water can burn through them quickly. Gutterflow is especially rough on ordinary filters.
But durability isn’t the only problem. Sometimes a filter stops improving water even though it hasn’t worn out. That’s because it can’t remove the contaminants that are still present.
Before buying another filter, check the batch with AquaScan. If microbes remain, use the appropriate treatment. Chemicals and heavy metals may require the powered Water Purifier instead.
The Advanced Water Filter restores 50 durability at the beginning of each day and that makes it useful for regular purification. Standard Water Filters are cheaper, though. The October 28 update lowered their base price from 50 to 25 credits.
How to Sell Water for the Best Price
Not every customer wants Pure Water. Some Scavengers accept Ghostwater or Basewater, while certain water-focused buyers are interested in High-Quality or Pure Water.
Before spending more on purification, check which grades your customers accept. A buyer’s available credits also limit what you can sell them.
Water Supply Crisis and Other Market Events
Water prices change during certain market events, and timing a sale can make a noticeable difference.
| Market event | Water price modifier | Default duration |
|---|---|---|
| Water Supply Crisis | +100% | 3 days |
| Minor Water Shortage | +35% | 2 days |
| Water Supply Surplus | −25% | 2 days |
A Water Supply Crisis is an attractive time to sell prepared water because the event applies a +100% modifier to the water category.
A Water Supply Surplus works the other way around. With water prices reduced by 25%, it’s worth checking whether you can buy stock cheaply for later processing.
These are market modifiers, not guaranteed final transaction prices. Other pricing conditions still apply, and events don’t follow a guaranteed schedule.
Vending Fountain vs. Direct Water Sales
The Vending Fountain automatically sells Basewater or higher-grade water overnight. Its pricing includes a 10% bonus alongside applicable retail markup.
Here’s the catch: Vending Fountain sales ignore market-event modifiers.
If a Water Supply Crisis is active, check direct buyer offers before putting your entire stock into automated vending. Otherwise, you could miss out on the event’s price increase.
Is Pure Water Worth Making?
Not necessarily. Pure Water is the highest grade, but reaching 99.9% purity requires a properly upgraded Water Purifier. That means spending on equipment and energy, with some batches needing extra processing time.
High-Quality Water already satisfies the requirements of certain buyers. If that’s what your customer wants, pushing the same batch to Pure Water may be unnecessary.
Before going for the highest purity, I’d check three things:
- Does the customer actually want Pure Water?
- How much more processing will the batch need?
- Will the better sale price cover the additional expense?
The highest grade doesn’t automatically mean the best profit. Sometimes selling High-Quality Water and moving on to the next batch is the more practical choice.
In Probably Stolen, the goal isn’t to make every drop of water perfect. It’s to sell water people actually want without letting the purification costs eat your profits.
