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    Probably Stolen Water Guide: Grades, Purification and Selling

    Updated

    Water is the steadiest money in Probably Stolen: buy dirty water cheap, clean it up a grade or two and sell it to the right buyer. Players turned 80 credits of basewater into about 153 (a 91% return) with just a pitcher and a filter. Here are the six grades, how to process each, the machines and who buys what, from community tests in the demo compiled by The Exceptional Fisherman.

    The six water grades

    Every full 25 ml is worth 1 credit before the grade modifier (24.9 ml is worth nothing). The grade then adds or removes this much:

    Pure water99.9%+ waterprice +100%wine +1

    Top grade; upper-level buyers pay most

    High-quality99–99.9% waterprice +50%wine +1

    The usual target after filtering

    Basewater98–99% waterprice +0%wine 0

    Water rations and most sellers

    Ghostwater96–98% waterprice −33%wine −1

    Clear: can be passed off as better to buyers without test strips

    Rustwater90–96% waterprice −75%wine −2

    Visibly discolored: anyone can tell

    Gutterflowunder 90% waterprice −90%wine −3

    Visibly dirty; also used for anything below 35%

    Starter setup

    1. Water neon sign and household item sign: Dr. Jackson.
    2. Pitcher, water filter and water testing kit: the household sign's seller.
    3. Or buy the water trading upgrade on Wild's Network for 300 favor: it gives everything except the household sign and unlocks the rest of the water content.
    4. Put the water sign in the display case, buy anything better than rustwater, test discolored bottles (sellers lie).
    5. Pour it through the filtered pitcher, test, and label the result.
    The Water Purifier machine and the Water Trading Manual with its quality table
    The Water Purifier and the Water Trading Manual's grade table. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild, from the game's Steam page

    Purifying each grade

    Start withDo thisYou get
    High-qualityUV light (optional), then pour through a pitcher with a water filter.Stays high-quality at a higher % (about 74%) or becomes pure (about 26%). Test it.
    BasewaterUV light (optional), then a filtered pitcher.Always high-quality. Relabel it with the red labeler; no test needed.
    GhostwaterPool it in one container, UV it or add a purification tablet (leave 15 ml free), then a filtered pitcher.High-quality (75%) or high-% basewater (25%). Test it.
    RustwaterSame as ghostwater, or use a HydraTech micro purifier first and treat it as basewater.Always ghostwater by hand; basewater → high-quality via HydraTech.
    GutterflowDon't filter it by hand. Use a HydraTech micro purifier, then process it as basewater.Basewater → high-quality.

    Processing only works once: water that has already been filtered has nothing left that the filter can remove. The heavy metals and chemicals that remain need the Water Purifier, dilution with better water, or the rat-droppings trick below.

    Tools and where to buy them

    ToolWhat it doesWhere
    Water filter (pitcher)Removes plant matter, debris, microplastics, physical contaminants, organic matter, minerals and microbes. 400 durability.Household neon sign seller
    Kotton fabric (pitcher)Removes only plant matter and insoluble debris, cheaply. 1,000 durability.Material neon sign seller
    UV lightTurns all microbes into extra water. Use it first.Dr. Jackson
    Purification tablet15 ml chlorine: kills any amount of microbes and chemical contaminants above about 1.5%. Leave 15 ml free in the bottle.Household neon sign seller
    HydraTech micro purifierLifts any water below 98% to exactly 98% (basewater), keeping contaminant ratios. 400 durability.Thieves (new) or Dr. Jackson (used)
    Water testing kit10 single-use strips that show water %.Household neon sign seller
    AquaScanReusable: shows water %, volume and every contaminant.Household thief seller or Dr. Jackson

    Who buys what

    BuyerBuysTests?Spring water?
    Lower-level buyersBasewater to high-quality and water rationsAlways test with stripsNo
    Upper-level buyersGutterflow to pure and water rationsNever testYes
    Upper-level water stockpiler (display case, top tier)High-quality and pure only, no rationsAlways testsYes
    Scav (display case, low tier)Like lower-levelDoesn't testNo
    Thirsty spacer (display case, low tier)Also ghostwaterTestsNo

    Bottle size matters for the display case: a 6 l jug or 2 l bottle labeled pure draws the upper-level stockpiler, a 750 ml bottle labeled high-quality draws lower-level buyers, and a 450 ml bottle labeled below high-quality draws the cheapest buyers. More in the display case guide.

    Moisture Farm and Water Purifier

    The Moisture Farm (225 credits, 4 energy a day) makes 1,000 ml a day. Its Quality module decides the grade:

    QualityMakesAfter filtering
    0% (base)GhostwaterFiltered: 75% high-quality, 25% basewater. Pool five days in one jug and it almost always comes out high-quality.
    +50%BasewaterFiltered: always high-quality.
    +100%High-qualityFiltered: about 26% chance of pure water.
    +150%Pure waterNo filtering needed.

    The Water Purifier (300 credits) slowly converts contaminants into water, faster when the water is dirtier. From raw water it needs +100% Quality to reach pure (+75% if you pre-filter in a pitcher). Full module numbers are on the machines page.

    Water taps (Wild's Network)

    UpgradeCostWaterBest use
    Gutterflow on Tap250 Wild's favor80–89%, same all dayFeed a HydraTech for unlimited basewater; Gloomberry wine; sell as labeled gutterflow to the Merchant, tourists and addicted stockpilers.
    Rustwater on Tap350 favor (needs the gutterflow tap, 600 total)90–92%, same all dayFilter to ghostwater for spacers; feed the Water Purifier for higher grades.

    Relabeling water, and what it costs you

    • Only buyers without test strips can be fooled: scavs, tourists and an addicted upper-level stockpiler.
    • Only clear water works (ghostwater or better). Rust and gutterflow are visibly dirty.
    • Each ml sold above its grade adds to a hidden counter (ghostwater as pure counts 4×, as high-quality 2×, as basewater 1×). At 3,000 you get a criminal record charge: at least 100 credits, more as the counter grows.
    A note saying the small bottle of water you sold killed someone's friend, beside the AquaScan readout
    Sell bad water and it comes back to you. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild, from the game's Steam page

    Frequently asked questions

    How do you purify water in Probably Stolen?

    Use a UV light on the container first (it turns microbes into water), then pour it through a pitcher with a water filter. Basewater always comes out high-quality; high-quality has about a 26% chance to become pure. Dirtier water needs a purification tablet or a HydraTech micro purifier first.

    How do you get pure water?

    Three ways: a Moisture Farm with +150% quality makes it directly; filtering high-quality water (about 1 in 4 tries); or the Water Purifier machine with +100% quality (+75% if you pre-filter).

    What is the best way to start water trading?

    Buy a water neon sign and a household sign from Dr. Jackson, then a pitcher, water filter and testing kit from the household seller. Buy cheap basewater from the water seller, filter it to high-quality, put a bottle labeled pure in the display case to attract the upper-level water stockpiler, and sell to them.

    Who buys gutterflow and rustwater?

    Upper-level buyers (they buy anything from gutterflow to pure and never test), the Sunday Merchant who buys everything except contraband, tourists and addicted regulars.

    Can you sell water as a higher grade?

    Only clear water (ghostwater or better) and only to buyers who don't test: scavs, tourists and an addicted upper-level stockpiler. A hidden counter tracks it, and at 3,000 points you get a criminal record charge of at least 100 credits.

    Sources

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