Fill the can at a clean-water source
Use your watering can at a rain catcher or well that contains clean water, or refill it from a barrel holding clean water. The Clean Water and Dirty Water items in your inventory cannot fill the can. Boiling hand-collected water at a campfire makes an inventory item for drinking; it does not create water you can pour into a watering can.
If your can still contains dirty water, empty it before switching to clean water. A partly filled can cannot accept the opposite water type, so changing the water source alone will not solve that problem.
Refill and water the farming plot
- Check whether the watering can contains dirty water. Empty the remaining contents before trying to replace them with clean water.
- Go to a rain catcher or well with water available. A rain catcher gathers clean water during rainfall; a barrel is useful only if its stored contents are already clean.
- Equip or use the watering can at that source and choose the fill interaction shown on screen. Use the game’s displayed binding rather than assuming a keyboard or controller button.
- Use the filled can directly on the farming plot. Keep the water-source choice separate from the physical Clean Water item in your inventory.
Choose the right source for the water you want
| Option | Details |
|---|---|
| Rain catcher or well | A clean-water source for refilling the can, provided water is available. |
| Water barrel | Stores water for later transfer; use one containing clean water when that is your goal. |
| Pond or river | Fills the watering can with dirty water rather than clean water. |
| Inventory water item | Hand-collected or cooked inventory water cannot be used to fill the watering can. |
When the can will not take clean water
- Why does the clean water I cooked not work?
- The inventory item and the water held by the can are separate. Cooking collected water does not make it transferable into the watering can. Refill the can at an appropriate water source instead.
- Why does a partly filled can reject the new water?
- It holds one water type at a time. Empty the remaining dirty water, then return to a rain catcher, well or clean-water barrel and refill it.
- How does Humidify use my watering can?
- Keep the watering can in your inventory when casting Humidify. The spell uses the water inside it to water the plots in a line in front of you, so fill it with the intended water type before casting.