Probably Stolen chemical contaminant: Purity Guide

Solve Probably Stolen chemical contaminant problems with player-reported chlorine tips, filtration advice, and scanner checks for better purity.

Why Chemical Contaminants Can Ruin Your Batch

A stubborn Probably Stolen chemical contaminant reading can leave an otherwise promising batch with disappointing purity. The Probably Stolen chemical contaminant problem matters because making your target ingredient is only part of the job—you also need to remove what remains mixed with it. Community reports identify chlorine pills as a way to reduce chemical contaminants, with one player reporting a remaining reading of about 0.7%, rather than complete removal.

Probably Stolen - Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim official screenshot

Official screenshot · Source: Steam store

The important distinction is that chemical contaminants, physical contaminants, microbes, and leftover reagents are not interchangeable. A treatment that helps one category may leave another untouched.

This guide explains how to diagnose the problem, choose the appropriate cleanup method, and avoid wasting a batch through unnecessary filtering or heating.

Source note: The mechanics below come from player experience in the Steam Community chemistry discussion for Probably Stolen. These are community reports, not official developer documentation or independently verified testing. Treat exact figures as observations to check against your current game version.

Probably Stolen Chemical Contaminant: What Actually Helps?

The most direct answer in the available discussion is chlorine pills for chemical contaminants. A player reports that they reduce the chemical-contaminant reading to approximately 0.7%.

That number needs context. The discussion does not establish a universal dose, treatment duration, or guaranteed minimum across every mixture. It also does not demonstrate that adding more chlorine will push the reading to zero.

For Probably Stolen chemical contaminant cleanup, use that report as a starting point—not a promise of perfect purity.

Match the Treatment to the Scanner Reading

Before adding anything, identify the actual unwanted component. The community distinguishes several problems that require different responses.

Scanner reading or component	Player-reported approach	Important limitation
Chemical contaminants	Chlorine pills	One report describes a residual reading around 0.7%
Physical contaminants	Water filter	Does not establish removal of dissolved reagents
Microbes	Chlorine or UV	Treating microbes does not remove every other impurity
Insoluble debris	Kotton Fabric and water filters	The debris must exist before it can be filtered
Protein	Acid/base treatment to produce filterable debris	Protein itself reportedly passes through these filters
Oil	Lipobond Agent to produce filterable debris	Check the result before assuming cleanup is complete

This is why repeatedly pouring a mixture through a filter can feel ineffective. If the unwanted material remains in a form the filter does not capture, another pass does not address the underlying problem.

The useful question is not simply, “Have I filtered this?” It is, “Can this filter remove what the scanner currently shows?”

What the 0.7% Report Does—and Does Not—Mean

The reported 0.7% reading is a specific player observation about chemical contaminants. It is not a statement that the entire batch becomes 99.3% pure.

A mixture could still contain protein, oil, unconverted extract, excess reagents, or physical contaminants after its chemical-contaminant reading improves. You therefore need to inspect the whole composition, not just the category you treated.

Likewise, the source does not establish that chlorine is compatible with every possible recipe stage. Check your batch after treatment rather than assuming one successful cleanup method is universally harmless.

A Scanner-First Cleanup Workflow

The strongest recurring advice in the discussion is to use the scanner throughout production. Recipes provide a starting process, but community reports suggest that high purity also depends on intermediate cleanup.

A sensible Probably Stolen chemical contaminant workflow starts with observation and ends with verification. Avoid combining several new treatments at once, because that makes it harder to identify which action helped—or caused a problem.

Step	Recommended action	What to check
1. Establish a baseline	Scan the mixture before treatment	Which unwanted components are actually present?
2. Complete the required extraction	Follow the recipe’s extraction conditions	Has the useful material changed from mush to extract?
3. Address chemical contamination	Use the player-reported chlorine method where appropriate	Did the chemical-contaminant reading decrease?
4. Address other impurities	Choose treatment based on the remaining components	Are protein, oil, microbes, or physical contaminants still present?
5. Filter when useful	Remove physical contaminants or newly formed debris	Did filtration remove the intended material?
6. Verify before finishing	Scan before evaporation or packaging	Are unwanted reagents or unconverted ingredients still present?

This is a diagnostic framework, not a universal recipe. Different products have different conversion requirements and temperature tolerances.

Extract Before Filtering Away the Starting Material

According to player experience, plant mush can be caught by Kotton Fabric and water filters, while the corresponding plant extract passes through.

That creates an easy mistake: filtering too early can remove material you intended to convert into your product.

Before filtration, check whether the extraction has actually happened. If the scanner still shows the starting mush, returning to the recipe’s extraction conditions may be more useful than immediately filtering.

Scan After Each Meaningful Change

Useful checkpoints include:

After adding a solvent or reagent.
After heating for extraction or conversion.
After treating a contaminant category.
After filtration.
Before using the evaporator.
Before placing the result in the chemical finisher.

You do not need to guess whether every step worked. Compare the readings.

For example, if a Probably Stolen chemical contaminant reading falls but physical contamination remains, you have evidence that one problem improved while another still needs attention.

Make Small, Measured Adjustments

One player who reported a high-grade result described adding solutions with a pipette while watching composition changes.

The practical lesson is precision. Adding a large volume of a reagent can leave you with a new purity problem even if it helps the intended reaction.

Record what you add and check the scanner before adding more. The available source does not support a single chlorine dosage or reagent quantity that works for all batches.

Why Purity Stays Low After Treatment

Chemical contamination is only one possible reason for a weak final product. The discussion includes a failed batch with substantial amounts of physical contaminants, protein, unconverted extract, and reducing agent still present.

That example illustrates a broader point: following the broad recipe sequence does not guarantee that every reaction finished or every unwanted component disappeared.

Common Cleanup Mistakes

Mistake	Why it can hurt the batch	Better response
Treating every impurity as chemical contamination	Chlorine does not establish removal of all unwanted ingredients	Read the individual components first
Filtering before extraction	Useful plant mush may be captured	Confirm conversion into extract before filtering
Using only Kotton Fabric for persistent physical contamination	Community advice also points to a water filter	Check the filtering setup and compare readings
Adding excessive reagent	Leftover reagent remains part of the mixture	Make measured additions and rescan
Evaporating before cleanup is complete	The reported failed batch still contained unwanted components afterward	Verify composition before evaporation
Packaging an unchecked batch	Remaining impurities carry into the finishing stage	Perform a final scanner check

Protein and Oil Need Different Attention

Community reports describe converting protein into insoluble debris using acid/base treatment. They also describe Lipobond Agent converting oil into debris that can then be filtered out.

However, the discussion is not completely consistent about Lipobond Agent: another commenter associates it with protein binding. That disagreement is a reason to rely on scanner changes rather than treating every forum explanation as settled.

The dependable takeaway is the overall process: convert an unwanted component into something filterable, then remove the resulting debris.

The source also does not establish a universal procedure for clearing every leftover reagent. Avoid assuming that a water filter will remove excess acid, base, or reducing agent simply because it removes physical contamination.

More Heat Is Not Automatically Better

Players describe temperature-dependent extraction, microbial removal, and reagent behavior. One community report also warns that Lipobond Agent can boil off above roughly 55°C.

These observations do not justify using the highest possible temperature as a general purification method. A temperature that helps one stage may interfere with another.

Follow the relevant in-game recipe, watch the scanner, and stop treating heat as a substitute for identifying the impurity. This is especially important when your goal is Probably Stolen chemical contaminant removal rather than completing a temperature-dependent conversion.

Check the Finishing Stage Separately

One player described using a chemical finisher with a 3% contaminants debuff. That is a specific reported equipment condition, not a documented penalty for every machine.

If your composition looks cleaner before finishing than afterward, inspect the machine’s displayed condition and modifiers.

The same discussion identifies the Chemical Equipment Module as the upgrade module for chemistry machines, including the heating plate and finishing equipment. It does not establish exact upgrade bonuses or prove that installing one eliminates contamination.

Practical Troubleshooting and Batch Tracking

When a batch refuses to improve, stop repeating the same action without checking the result. A short troubleshooting pass is usually more informative than another blind treatment.

Problem you observe	What to investigate next
Chemical-contaminant reading remains near 0.7%	This resembles the reported chlorine result; complete removal is not established
Physical contaminants remain	Check whether you used a water filter rather than fabric alone
Protein remains after filtering	It may not have converted into filterable debris
Large reagent percentage remains	Review how much was added and whether the intended reaction completed
Product yield drops after filtration	Check whether useful material was still mush when filtered
Purity worsens during finishing	Inspect the finisher’s displayed modifiers

Keep a Simple Batch Log

For repeat production, record:

Starting ingredients and their scanner readings.
Reagent quantities added.
Temperatures used.
Composition before and after filtering.
Composition before evaporation and finishing.
Final grade or purity.

This turns experimentation into a repeatable process. If two batches behave differently, you have something concrete to compare.

For a Probably Stolen chemical contaminant test, the most useful entry is the reading immediately before and after treatment. Also record what else changed, since lowering one category is less helpful if another unwanted component increases.

Do not chase a zero reading by endlessly adding supplies. If the result stops changing, reassess the remaining components and the limits of the available community evidence.

FAQ

How do I remove chemical contaminants in Probably Stolen?

Community reports recommend chlorine pills. One player reports reducing chemical contaminants to approximately 0.7%. For Probably Stolen chemical contaminant treatment, scan before and afterward; the source does not establish a universal dose or guarantee complete removal.

Does a water filter remove chemical contaminants?

The available player advice specifically assigns water filters to physical contaminants and filterable debris, while recommending chlorine pills for chemical contaminants. Do not assume that a water filter removes every dissolved ingredient or leftover reagent.

Why is my purity low even after following the recipe?

You may still have protein, oil, physical contaminants, excess reagents, or unconverted ingredients in the batch. Community reports emphasize scanning between stages and adding appropriate cleanup steps rather than assuming the recipe alone guarantees high purity.

Should I filter before or after extraction?

Player experience recommends completing extraction first when working with plant mush. Mush can reportedly be caught by Kotton Fabric and water filters, while the corresponding extract passes through. Confirm the conversion with the scanner before filtering away material you still need.