Probably Stolen water is one of the game's biggest side businesses on Steam: you buy or collect dirty water, clean it, and sell it to customers who care how clean it is. This guide covers the loop, the tools, the grades and what the 1.0 launch hotfixes changed. Most numbers below come from a demo-era guide, so treat them as a starting point and not as 1.0 values.
Probably Stolen water basics
Water is a normal trade good in the game, and buyers sort it by quality. The official store text says water must be tested and filtered, and that water brings liability. Containers matter too: since the September build, a container counts as water goods only while it holds liquid, and as a household good when empty.
Market events also move the price. A demo-era source lists a water supply crisis at +100% for three days, a minor shortage at +35% and a surplus at -25%. If you want the full list of ways to earn money, the Probably Stolen tips and tricks page is the place to go.
The Water Merchant loop
The Water Merchant scenario is summed up by the developer as test, purify, relabel, or don't, with liability on you. A launch-day Steam Community guide by Owlie gives a beginner loop:
- Drop a purification pill into a container of dirty water.
- Pour the water through a filtered pitcher into a second container.
- Relabel the container if the grade changed.
The same guide advises keeping your starting jug, using a 6L jug to save pills and test kits, and not buying big batches of untested water. It also says filters no longer remove microbes in 1.0, so the pill (chlorine) and UV light matter for high-quality water.
Liability is the catch. A demo-era guide says that labeling water as a better grade than it is builds a hidden counter, and past a threshold you get a criminal-record charge with a fine of at least 100 credits. That detail is low confidence and from the demo, so do not rely on the exact numbers.
Probably Stolen water tools and machines
| Item | What it does | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Water purification pill | Converts microbes into water; use it before filtering | Sold by Dr. Jackson; demo-era guide |
| Water pitcher | 3000 ml container with a slot for a filter, UV light or Kotton fabric | Demo-era guide |
| Water testing kit | Ten one-use strips; the AquaScan is the reusable version | Demo-era guide |
| HydraTech micro purifier | Raises low-quality water to 98% concentration | Fixed in September to reach 98% reliably |
| Water Filter | Filters water; price 25 after hotfix 1.0.0.2 | Official hotfix notes |
| Water Purifier (machine) | Converts contaminants in a bottle into water | Logic reworked in 1.0.0.2 |
| Moisture Farm | Makes source water overnight | Price 350 after 1.0.0.2 |
Machines draw energy each night, so a Moisture Farm has a running cost as well as a price. Wild's Network also sells taps that give unlimited source water of one grade, the gutterflow tap and the rustwater tap, for Wild's favour.
Players who start as an Aquafarmer scenario run get a water circulation system for fish tanks, which is a separate use of water quality.
Probably Stolen water grades and prices (demo-era)
The grade table below comes from an outdated Steam guide by The Exceptional Fisherman. Demo-era, verify in 1.0: the developer has not published the 1.0 grade thresholds or modifiers. Every 25 ml is worth about 1 credit before the modifier.
| Grade | Concentration | Price modifier |
|---|---|---|
| Pure water | 99.9% and up | +100% |
| High-quality | 99 to 99.9% | +50% |
| Basewater | 98 to 99% | 0% |
| Ghost water (Ghostwater) | 96 to 98% | -33% |
| Rustwater | 90 to 96% | -75% |
| Gutterflow | under 90% | -90% |
The same guide says lower-level buyers test with strips and take Basewater to High-quality, while upper-level buyers skip testing and take Gutterflow to Pure. Scavs never test. Premium spring water is accepted only by upper-level customers.
What changed for water in 1.0 and hotfix 1.0.0.2
Players on launch day argued the 1.0 water start was heavily nerfed compared with the demo, with moisture collectors at 650 producing little. A minority said water was still too strong. Hotfix 1.0.0.2, released the same day, partly reversed it. The full list is on the Probably Stolen patch notes page.
| Item | At launch | After 1.0.0.2 |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture Farm price | 650 | 350 |
| Water Filter price | 50 | 25 |
| Water Purifier | Original logic | Reworked to be more intuitive |
| Dr. Jackson markup (Normal) | 25% | 15% |
The demo version of the game is covered on the Probably Stolen demo page. If you carry waste or illegal goods alongside water, see Probably Stolen radioactive waste and Probably Stolen contraband. All nine Probably Stolen starting scenarios are listed in one place.
Probably Stolen Water FAQ
What is the best way to make water profitable?
A Steam Community launch guide suggests purifying with a pill and a filtered pitcher, relabeling only when the grade really changed, and keeping your starting jug. No source has tested profit per hour in 1.0, so treat this as a method and not a guaranteed result.
What is ghost water?
In a demo-era guide, Ghostwater is the 96 to 98% grade that sells at about a third less than Basewater. It is a low-middle grade, not a special item. One early player found rats returned little ghost water and advised against rat water as a business.
What is pure water worth?
A demo-era guide lists Pure water at 99.9% and above with a +100% modifier, about double base price. The store text says pure water is more expensive than gold in the Water Merchant start. The 1.0 numbers are not published yet.
Did the water start get nerfed?
Yes, many players said so at launch, and hotfix 1.0.0.2 cut the Moisture Farm price to 350 and the Water Filter price to 25 and reworked the Water Purifier. Whether that fully fixes balance is still being debated by players.