Sweeping Polluted Water In Oxygen: Not An Easy Task

In the space-colony simulation game Oxygen Not Included, players often encounter issues with polluted water. While some players suggest digging a hole at the bottom of the base and dumping the water there, others recommend more sophisticated approaches. One effective method involves using a bottle emptier, setting it to 'sweep only', and directing dupes to sweep the polluted water bottles. This prevents dupes from emptying fresh water bottles into the polluted reservoir. Additionally, ensuring that the bottle emptier is placed near the source of polluted water and setting a high priority for the building can help dupes empty bottles more efficiently.

Building a bottle emptier over a basin

To sweep polluted water in Oxygen Not Included, you need to build a bottle emptier over a basin. The bottle emptier is a building used for emptying bottles of liquid into specific locations. It can empty a maximum capacity of 200 kg of liquid at a time.

• Construct the Bottle Emptier: Place the bottle emptier over a basin or reservoir in an area accessible to your dupes. Ensure that the building priority is set to 9.
• Set the Emptier to Polluted Water: By default, the bottle emptier is set to water. Once polluted water is discovered, the system will automatically include it as an option in the Element Filter menu. Select "Polluted Water" to ensure the emptier is designated for this liquid.
• Direct Dupes to Sweep: Instruct your dupes to sweep the polluted water bottles. They will take the bottles to the bottle emptier and empty the contents into the basin or reservoir.
• Enable Auto-Bottling (Optional): Enabling the Auto-Bottling option allows dupes to bottle liquid at a Pitcher Pump and bring it to the bottle emptier. This is useful if you want them to empty a large body of water over time.
• Manage Priorities: Ensure that sweeping polluted water is set as a high-priority "Store" or "Tidying" errand for your dupes. This will prevent delays in emptying polluted water bottles and reduce the risk of contamination.

By following these steps, you can effectively use a bottle emptier to manage and sweep polluted water in Oxygen Not Included.

Setting the building priority to 9

• Access the Priority Panel: Press the "L" key to bring up the priority panel, which allows you to set priorities for different tasks.
• Select Priority 9: In the priority panel, you will see different priority levels. Select priority 9 to make it the default priority for the tasks you want to be completed first.
• Construction Menu: When selecting something to build in the construction menu, look for the priority tab with numbers in the bottom left corner. Click on the tab and select priority 9 for the specific building or task.
• Large Projects: Setting priority 9 is especially useful for large projects. For example, you may want to build ladders and tiles before constructing other buildings.
• Individual Dupe Priorities: Keep in mind that duplicant priorities come before building priorities. Even if a building task is set to priority 9, a dupe with a raised priority for a different task will focus on that task first.
• Storage Buildings: For storage buildings, the priority determines the preference for duplicants to place items in that building. A higher priority will make it more likely for duplicants to choose that storage location.
• Supply and Store Errands: Be mindful that setting the priority to 9 for supply errands, such as sweeping polluted water, may result in dupes prioritising unnecessary tasks. Use the sweep only setting to prevent dupes from grabbing the wrong bottles.

Sweeping Polluted Water:

• Bottle Emptier: To sweep polluted water, build a bottle emptier over a basin or reservoir. Set it to "sweep only" polluted water to prevent dupes from emptying other bottles into your reservoir.
• Dupe Priorities: Ensure that your dupes have the necessary priorities set. Setting the building priority to 9 for the bottle emptier and related tasks will help ensure that polluted water is swept and dealt with promptly.
• Storing Polluted Water: Sweeping polluted water is considered a "Store" errand. You can set the priority for storing polluted water to "Very High" or "High" to ensure it is done quickly, but this may also lead to unnecessary storing tasks.

By setting the building priority to 9 for tasks related to sweeping polluted water and constructing a bottle emptier, you can effectively manage your colony's polluted water and prevent contamination.

Manually assigning sweep and mop orders

To manually assign sweep and mop orders in Oxygen Not Included, you must first understand the mechanics of tidying and storing. While duplicants with a Tidy priority will perform disinfection and repair actions automatically, sweep and mop orders must be manually assigned.

The sweep command is handled by the "store" priority, which is part of the "'tidying' errand type". The "store" priority focuses on the collection of loose items, with or without the sweep tag attached. This can be confusing, as the tooltips and interface may label it as a "supply" errand. To ensure your duplicants are sweeping, set their priority to "Tidy" and then to "Store."

To manually assign sweep tasks to polluted water, you will need a bottle emptier. Place the bottle emptier over your polluted water reservoir and set it to 'sweep only'. Then, direct your duplicants to sweep the polluted water bottles, and they will empty them into the reservoir. Setting it to 'sweep only' prevents them from grabbing other bottles and emptying them into the wrong reservoir.

Mopping is an errand used to remove liquids from floor tiles and place them into bottles that can be carried by duplicants. Duplicants can mop tiles directly on top of any solid tile as long as there is 150kg or less of liquid present. To mop several tons of fluid, you can periodically drop a different, denser liquid into a large pool of another fluid. However, be careful not to drop more than 150kg of liquid, as it will become unmoppable.

Setting bottle emptier to 'sweep only'

To set a bottle emptier to sweep only in Oxygen Not Included, follow these steps:

• Build a bottle emptier over a basin or reservoir: Place the bottle emptier close to your terrariums or the polluted water source. This will be the designated area for emptying bottles.
• Set the building priority: Set the building priority to at least 9. This ensures that the bottle-emptying task takes precedence over other errands for your Duplicants.
• Enable auto-bottling: Make sure to enable the auto-bottling option on the bottle emptier. This will allow Duplicants to specifically bottle liquid and bring it to the bottle emptier.
• Set it to 'sweep only': By setting the bottle emptier to 'sweep only', you prevent your Duplicants from grabbing other types of bottles (such as freshwater) and emptying them into your polluted water reservoir. This ensures that only polluted water bottles are swept and emptied.
• Direct Duplicants to sweep: Assign your Duplicants to sweep the polluted water bottles. They will take the bottles to the bottle emptier and empty the contents into the designated reservoir.

It is important to note that only one bottle can be emptied at a time by the bottle emptier. Therefore, if you have a large number of bottles, you may need to add additional emptiers to speed up the process. Additionally, make sure to manage your Duplicants' priorities effectively. If they have too many other tasks, they may not get around to sweeping and emptying the bottles, so micromanaging their priorities is crucial.

Using deodorizers to clean oxygen

Polluted water is a common issue in the space-colony simulation game Oxygen Not Included. One way to address this problem is by using deodorizers to clean the oxygen and reduce the risk of diseases. Here are some detailed instructions on how to use deodorizers effectively to deal with polluted water:

Deodorizers are structures used for decontamination in the game. They are designed to filter and convert Polluted Oxygen into clean Oxygen, reducing the threat of diseases. Deodorizers are especially useful near structures that produce Polluted Oxygen, such as the Algae Distiller and Compost. By placing deodorizers near these structures, you can maintain cleaner air within your colony.

Dealing with Polluted Water:

Polluted water can be a challenge, but deodorizers can help here too. Since Polluted Water naturally turns into Polluted Oxygen over time, placing an array of deodorizers above an open pool of Polluted Water will allow the deodorizers to convert the Polluted Water into Oxygen gradually. This process does not generate heat, making it a safe option. Additionally, you can use deodorizers to clean pockets of Polluted Oxygen found outside your base, and then pump the renewed Oxygen back to your colony.

Maximizing Efficiency:

To make the most of deodorizers, it's important to manage your dupes' priorities effectively. Ensure that ""Storing" is set to a high priority, as sweeping polluted water is often classified as a "Store" errand. You can also use the ""Sweep" command to bring the errand to "Tidying" or "Supply." Additionally, consider building a liquid lock, such as a reservoir, to facilitate the process and reduce the need for dupes to constantly refill the deodorizers.

Other Considerations:

Keep in mind that deodorizers do not remove germs from the air, but the germs will eventually die off once the oxygen is cleaned. Also, be aware that deodorizers produce clay as a byproduct, so you'll need to manage the clay output. Finally, while this method can provide a steady supply of oxygen, it is not truly infinite, as off-gassing does reduce the mass of polluted water over time.

Frequently asked questions