Water Trading

Water in Probably Stolen is graded by purity from Pure Water at 99.9% down to Gutterflow under 90%. Test it, filter or purify it, retest, and label it honestly unless you accept the risk.

In Probably Stolen, water is sold by purity grade, and the trade is to test it, purify it and re-label it, or not, with the liability yours.

Grades

Grade	Purity
Pure Water	99.9% or higher
High-Quality	99% to below 99.9%
Basewater	98% to below 99%
Ghostwater	96% to below 98%
Rustwater	90% to below 96%
Gutterflow	Below 90%

6:40 Only a test catches Ghostwater, which looks better than it is and is the classic Lower Levels scam when sold as Basewater.

Equipment

Water Testing Kit or AquaScan: one-use tests, or a reusable scanner with more detail.
Water Filter: in a pitcher, turns Basewater into High-Quality. It wears out, and costs 25 since Oct 28.
UV Light or purification tablets for Ghostwater.
Moisture Farm: about 1,000 ml of Ghostwater a day, at 350 since Oct 28.
Water Purifier: for contaminated water, at 250 since Oct 30.
Bottle Printer: upgradable to normal and large bottles.

A fast Water Merchant start

0:00 Recreational Suffering's Oct 30 video guide takes Working Pipes, Savings, Short Sleeper and Bad Lease on the normal markup, and aims to get three Water Purifiers running within 8 to 14 days before any wholesale buying.

2:26 Each purifier turns a standard bottle of Rustwater into High-Quality water every night. The guide puts Dr. Jackson's chance of stocking one at about 20% to 25% a visit, while the visiting Water Merchant always has one.

8:15 With three purifiers, the guide's loop earns about 150 credits a day at 50 a bottle: pour out the finished water each morning, refill with Rustwater, and watch for rent.

Selling

Upper Level buyers may not recognize water-quality differences, while Lower Level residents do. An empty large bottle is a 9-credit Household Good, and full, 97-credit Water, per GitM. Spring Water sells only to Upper Level customers; GitM paid 163 for one worth 325 and never sold it. Water Supply Crisis events raise prices for days, and KeenGamer advises holding high-quality stock for them. Mislabel at your own risk: see the angry note below.

A cream note in handwriting and a teal handheld scanner with a list of readings over the shop interior. — A note says "The Bottle of Water (Small) you sold to my friend killed him! You are going to pay for this!", beside a water scanner's readout, in an official Steam store image of Probably Stolen Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild

Frequently asked questions

How do you make pure water in Probably Stolen? Filter Basewater for High-Quality, and use a Water Purifier for higher grades; a scanner confirms the result.

What is Ghostwater in Probably Stolen? Water of 96% to below 98% purity that looks better than it is, so only a test catches it.

Why did my water customer refuse in Probably Stolen? One known cause, since patch 1.0.0.5, is a Water Filter left in the pitcher; customers now tell you to remove it.

Sources

Probably Stolen: Complete Walkthrough & Beginner Tips, KeenGamer (Ali Amir), Oct 28, 2026
Probably Stolen: How to Spot Fakes With Every Item Manual's Counterfeit Tells, AllThingsHow, Oct 29, 2026
Water Balance & Hotfix - 1.0.0.2, Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild on Steam, Oct 28, 2026
Hotfix & Bell Hotkey Rebind - 1.0.0.5, Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild on Steam, Oct 30, 2026
Probably Stolen tips: rent, contraband and fakes, GitM, Oct 30, 2026
Opening October 28: What's in Store for 1.0 Release?, Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild on Steam, Oct 21, 2026
Probably Stolen Guide: Every Step From Day 1 to Buying the Store, AllThingsHow, Oct 29, 2026
UPDATE 049 Patch note - Release Date + New Demo, Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild on Steam, Sep 14, 2026
Everything You need to know about Water Trading! - Probably Stolen playtest Water Farming Tutorial, Piranowsky, Aug 13, 2026 (video)
How to Start a Water Empire in Probably Stolen (Guide), Recreational Suffering, Oct 30, 2026 (video)

Moments

Everything You need to know about Water Trading! - Probably Stolen playtest Water Farming Tutorial

Piranowsky

6:40 Only a test catches Ghostwater, which looks better than it is and is the classic Lower Levels scam when sold as…

How to Start a Water Empire in Probably Stolen (Guide)

Recreational Suffering

0:00 Recreational Suffering's Oct 30 video guide takes Working Pipes, Savings, Short Sleeper and Bad Lease on the normal…
2:26 Each purifier turns a standard bottle of Rustwater into High-Quality water every night. The guide puts Dr. Jackson's…
8:15 With three purifiers, the guide's loop earns about 150 credits a day at 50 a bottle: pour out the finished water each…