Discover How to Remove Water in Minecraft Without Sponges

Are you tired of dealing with water in Minecraft? Whether you’re looking to create dry land for building, clear water for mining, or remove water for redstone circuits, there are various ways to get rid of water in the game.

From using sponges and buckets to employing lava and pistons, this article covers all the methods you can use. Be cautious as there are risks involved, such as accidentally destroying your world or causing lag.

Read on to learn more about the benefits and risks of removing water in Minecraft.

What Is Water in Minecraft?

Water is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and colorless fluid which appears in lakes, oceans, rivers, etc., in Minecraft. Water is a liquid block which has an identity of still water, which means it has generated from water sources with 2 air blocks at least four blocks above if directly overhead, and flowing water, which is water that has an identity of still water and is not a man-made source but flows in the direction of falling leaf blocks. It is a mildly-acidic liquid block, having a pH level of 7, which is not harmful or destructive to the player in any way when consumed in a liquid state. The Chemical and Physical Characteristics of Water Biological Properties of Water profile in the Minecraft Education Edition resource compendium contrasts this greatly with the real-world hydrological properties of noticeably different regions and depths of not only surface oceans but deep as well.

The rules of water in Minecraft include the following features of water in terms of game mechanics:

1. Water in Minecraft is very thick, meaning that all blocks must be cleared of water individually using solid blocks, other liquids, or sponges rather than by breaking a single block, million of gallons of water pouring out, and flooding entire sets of underground mining tunnels.
2. Water in Minecraft spreads very efficiently, meaning that solidifying even a single stream sometimes requires the use of several sponges.
3. By knowing the physics of water in the game, players in tight situations such as getting stuck somewhere can use water to craft an upper escape different out of their predicament. For example, using an empty bucket to collect the water they are trapped in, then using the few blocks of wood they have to build a temporary stairways upwards to a safer, wider platform.

Why Do You Want to Get Rid of Water in Minecraft?

You would probably want to get rid of water in Minecraft if you want to manipulate water for building structures. Or when you want to deal with extensive natural water features and need to make them more navigable.

You want to get rid of water in Minecraft if there are water source blocks in spaces where you need to navigate on a temporary basis and cannot kill them off with sponges. Examples include extending into water source blocks when expanding an underwater base, or tunneling under a river or lake while trying to avoid cave and water sources. You may not have the resources (or patience) to use sponges on long stretches of water.

What Are the Different Ways to Get Rid of Water in Minecraft?

The different ways to get rid of water in Minecraft are with sponges, because they are the only item that removes water blocks, or through architecture and controlled water source blocks and swimming downwards. Either the /fill command or rebuilding the environment are the most effective ways to get rid of the most substantial amounts of water in Minecraft.

While the path of least resistance is with commands which can be done both in creative and survival modes, controlled building is something that can be done in survival mode more easily. Mining downward for water is just not feasible in actual Minecraft. If you have progressed a bit in your world and want to expand or build massive structures, consider more advanced building and filling to rid your world of the obstructive fluid, and pair it with some placement of sponges to finish up places of water which you cannot easily get to by hand.

Using Sponges

Sponges in Minecraft is an item that can be used to remove water as they can absorb up to 65 blocks of water within a radius of 7 blocks in all directions. If wet, sponges can be placed in the furnace, and once dry can absorb a new amount of water. Sponges are not useful for getting rid of large water areas as they can remove a maximum of 65 blocks of water per placement.

The source block for removing the maximum area of 65 blocks of water must be situated in the center of the sponge, meaning that theoretically sponges would be equally effective in removing 7 water in a 7x7x7 area as they would be in removing 65 water from the 7 in said area. In practical terms, this means that when removing water with sponges, empty out some of the water in the area first to increase the sponge’s effectiveness.

If you have enough sponges, or don’t mind their inefficiency, this method can be scaled up to get rid of large amounts of water at a faster pace. It is somewhat of a grind, which is why many Minecraft players look for other methods to get rid of water.

Using Buckets

Buckets are a useful tool for rid of water in Minecraft. They can also help distribute the water as they slowly dry up themselves. This functionality is particularly useful for quickly removing large quantities of water. Minecraft buckets can be used for both water and lava. While blocks of water are easily destroyed by lava, players can combine a bucket of water and eliminate a problem water source this way.

To use a bucket to fish out or displace problem water sources, follow these steps:

1. Get an empty Minecraft iron or wood bucket. You can make one using 3 iron or wood ingots.
2. Locate the water source you would like to eliminate (either a waterlogged block, ocean source, or waterfall).
3. Move the crosshairs to the water source, and then right-click on your mouse or press the “use” button. You will notice that the water packet is no longer known as a “source” block. Any water that is on top of water will be turned into water without a base.

Be careful while using buckets to displace water, as the water could become a major threat to you. Avoid drowning in it yourself. Make sure to have escape tools before fiddling with water as you might need to fight off a mob hidden by the water.

Buckets can also help transport water. If you placed a water source up high to take a dive, rather than moving the water, you might want to movement of space down. Create empty space and use a bucket with water to remove large amounts of water quickly.

Using Lava

Another way to drain water in Minecraft without using sponges is to use lava to turn it into obsidian by placing a layer of at least 3 blocks thick lava over the exposed water source. The lava slowly turns the water block into smooth obsidian (which retains the same volume), draining the water away. Lava needs to be contained to make this process as safe as possible.

Lava has a very low luminance level and emits high levels of heat so can easily ignite adjacent combustible blocks.

Using Pistons

Pistons are well-suited for removing water, though they can be difficult to use for large water removal projects. They are used by placing them in such a way to create pockets of water. The water removal process from the online game flow free is simple. The player must tap on a water square and select an available empty pocket to redirect the liquid flow. New piping systems for the water must be constructed, but the player is allowed to repair old ones as well.

If the water pocket is small enough, the player can redirect flow to the edge of the playing grid. However, since water fills all available space in a grid, in order for players to redirect liquids to the edges they are required to expand the size of these grid spaces to accommodate the flow out of the game.

Game-specific details: Players are able to expand grid spaces in order to accommodate liquid flow.

How to Get Rid of Water in Minecraft Without Sponges?

In Minecraft, you can get rid of water without sponges by doing as follows:

1. Build a bucket
2. Place walls and floors creating a natural waterfall path
3. Use natural lava to solve destructive water flow. Just be careful not to create lava waterfalls which can be an equal threat
4. Install a Drain Mod (available and useable for Java Minimum 1.16 +)

Beyond the above simple recommendations of the best practices for cleaning water are Water Solutions Borehole systems for purposefully removing large quantities of water and damming for either expanding or blocking a water source up to 16 x 16 x 16 blocks wide.

Using Lava

Using lava is another way to get rid of water blocks in Minecraft without sponges, but just like creating obsidian or cobblestone in a body of water, it is not a method that actually removes the water itself. Nevertheless, if a player is looking to clear out a body of water, this method allows them to keep the water gone without it simply being relocated further up.

Using Pistons

Pistons are mechanical blocks in Minecraft that generate energy by pushing or pulling the block a single space forward. Pistons cannot move large amounts of water at a time, and are time-consuming to build and use to move water from below the surface to another chamber.

Pistons convert the flowing water source block into regular water, and do not ‘dry’ the water. In Minecraft they take energy from a redstone power source or redstone for short, which transmits energy to the pistons and enables them to push forward, generating the water and allowing flow. The arrangement of the redstone and water source blocks will influence the direction that the pistons move in.

Follow these general steps to build and use pistons for water elimination in Minecraft.

1. Collect three iron ingots and four wooden planks to build three pistons.
2. Acquire redstone and find or craft a redstone block so that you can create a redstone energy source for the pistons.
3. Clear the area and set your pistons down with the end rods either horizontally or vertically oriented.
4. Place your redstone and redstone block to transmitt the ripple of energy and water balast. Voila! Water generated and begun to flow in the desired location.

To attain the best effect likely on the removal of water from an underwater area, it may be necessary to try alternative angles and locations of the pistons to get precise control over the flow of energy and water. Design, layout, and function may also vary according to edition.

Using Buckets

One of the first ways to get rid of water in Minecraft, well documented and frequently appearing in early Minecraft tutorials, is to manually remove the water source with a bucket. All you need is a metal or wooden bucket that you can find to pick up the water. To do this, equip the bucket in your hotbar, move to the water puddle, and right-click the water’s source block. The block will be converted into a water bucket, and the water in the surrounding area will disappear. Some or all of this water can be turned back into a water source and moved elsewhere by selecting an empty bucket in your hotbar and right-clicking. This is an inexpensive method as the cost is only the time and resources to make a bucket. It is a one-time use solution in which each new pool of water will require a new bucket.

Using Commands

If you own the Java Edition (PC/Mac) version of the game or the bedrock edition that can use certain cheats, you can remove water using commands. The exact command you will need to use is /fill. However, this command is very advanced and should only be used by those who are comfortable with running certain commands and who are using a copy of the game that allows commands to be run.

What Are the Benefits of Getting Rid of Water in Minecraft?

The benefits of getting rid of water in Minecraft are that it allows players to uncover hidden secrets or used submerged chests quickly and with minimal effort. Getting rid of water bypasses fighting drowned mobs and other underwater mobs by allowing the player to walk on the lake or island bottom or revealing the non-submerged caves below the source of water.

These benefits mean that players can get a lot of difficult and complicated things done more quickly with the help of certain blocks. Water can be gotten rid of in some mastered using sponges and using sand or gravel to quickly cover the source of water. If you decide to use sponges to remove water, you will first have to get them. The simplest way to remove water is a dry or wet sponge. Once you have one, you can use them to absorb water in a given fixed radius and can remove drafts as well. Usually a minimum of three sponges are advised according to a wiki for the teleportation of water, but the more sponge of it is placed the faster the absorption and water removal will be.

Creating Dry Land for Building

Dry land for building is created by getting rid of water using any of the methods for air or lava removal listed under Removing Water in Minecraft. This is also the best way to create usable underwater breathing room. But if you wish to create a patch of land not stable and covered with walking portals to the underworld, choose a block that floats on water (like minecraft magma):

1. Fill the whole area with the block of choice on the surface of the water
2. Dig out this artificial floor fixed on the surface of the puddle stand-in to remove the water beneath

Clearing Out Water for Mining

There are fewer points in the pre-1.18 versions of the game, but according to Minecraft version water flow mechanics, water blocks will attempt to flow seven blocks further, transforming the source blocks like the one seen by the light from torches in the first image of this article. You will only have to make your way to where the water ends and mine back to the new source block from there (which was originally the source).

You are alerted to the fact that mining for two sources of water is necessary when you see striped bordered water blocks. Just keep mining towards the water you don’t want to keep until the striped blocks turn into normal (no-border) blocks and there is no more water in your mineshaft.

Removing Water for Redstone Circuits

Water can be one of the most detrimental things to Redstone circuits in Minecraft. Water causes Redstone signals to wipe out in any effective medium around the user, makes it impossible to set prisms, and can possibly make machinery unusable or halt any Redstone-related work.

Build a 4x4x3 water removal structure and bellow the water out of the way as you lower one wall’s stone slabs.

Other structures may be much easier when only removing a limited amount of water. To remove the water from the system and prevent new water from entering, consult designs around the removed section for the most part. The empty section is typically 4 blocks down and attached to obsidian around it so that the water doesn’t flood the system further.

But don’t worry because you can use a dry-out room technique to settle water around removed sections and have a friendly water removal environment for any length of time.

What Are the Risks of Getting Rid of Water in Minecraft?

The risks of getting rid of water in Minecraft are that you may lose the ability to use the water for farming, fall damage reduction, fishing, and travel in smaller bodies of water. Minecraft water removes 40% of fall damage (which can be helpful in constructing bases and homes) and allows water breathing in its liquid state so the player can stay underwater for long. Be sure that there is no longer a need for it before getting rid of water in Minecraft or you may regret it later.

Accidentally Destroying Your World

In the earliest versions of Minecraft, sponges were highly difficult to obtain. A bug was first fixed in Infdev 20100618 that allowed you to continue to gather water even after breaking the outer layer of a sponge block by placing the sponge in flowing water and converting it back to a wet sponge in a crafting table. This removed the inner layer but retained the block itself.

The blocks are common in dungeons, so this strategy was a backdoor method of obtaining inexhaustible sponges. But Notch fixed this bug in his own novel way, according to Mark Watson an English artist and image analyst, It’s believed the change to sponges becoming naturally generated in those previous versions in 0.0.14 was a response to the way people were using sponges, which removed them from the map – destroying your world as a way to attain the only means to save it.

Difficulty in Replacing the Water

Requiring to replace the water in Minecraft with sponges is better avoided because it is a difficult and protected material of last resort for water removal. Water can make its way into areas where it is difficult to replace using buildable resources and only able to be legitimately accomplished by sponges. If there is no other alternative within the game to remove the water, using sponges and then drying them out to use again is the best option even if it is more difficult and time-consuming than starting over or building further to allow the water to flow down and out to a larger area that is already dug out underwater. Instead of replacing the water in Minecraft with sponges, ensure water does not end up in places where it is impossible or too difficult to replace.

Potential for Causing Lag or Crashes

Flooding and sponges, which are the traditional ways to get rid of water in Minecraft, are not recommended in newer versions of the game because there can be a lot of lag and crashes due to so many entities being created with sponges. In other words, there is now disagreement as to whether the best way to deal with water logging caused during construction is to place sponges or simply clear the water actively. Corvo posts on the main Minecraft wiki that users should refrain from actively causing flooding unless excavation is desired as it causes lag, instead referring to the void as a safe way to remove water logs. Other blogs have the same take. The Scott Resource System poses a possible solution with using water traps that are nodes safe (0.120096%) by building drainage systems that utilize waterlogged blocks path towards a void (below sea level) louveared opening that provides air, so that it won’t cause lag due to pressure cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get rid of water in Minecraft without sponges?

In Minecraft, water can often be an obstacle for players when building structures or exploring underwater. However, there are ways to get rid of water without using sponges. Here are some frequently asked questions about removing water in Minecraft:

What can I use instead of sponges to get rid of water in Minecraft?

Sponges are the most common way to remove water in Minecraft, but they can be difficult to obtain. Instead, you can use lava, sand, or gravel to quickly absorb water and create air pockets.

How do I use lava to get rid of water in Minecraft?

To use lava to remove water, place a source block of lava near the body of water you want to remove. The lava will flow and turn the water into obsidian, which can easily be broken with a pickaxe.

What is the best method for getting rid of large bodies of water in Minecraft?

If you need to remove a large amount of water, the best method is to use sand or gravel to create a wall around the water and then dig underneath the water to drain it out. This will create a dry area for you to work in.

Is there a way to get rid of water in creative mode without using any items?

Yes, if you are in creative mode, you can use the fill command to quickly remove large bodies of water. Simply type /fill ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ minecraft:air replace minecraft:water and the water will be replaced with air.

Can I use mods or plugins to get rid of water in Minecraft?

Yes, there are many mods and plugins available that can help you remove water in Minecraft. Some popular options include WorldEdit, which has a drain command specifically for removing water, and the Flood Fill plugin.

Is there a way to prevent water from entering structures in Minecraft?

Yes, you can use blocks such as glass or fences to create a barrier between your structure and the water. You can also use a bucket of lava to create a wall of obsidian around your structure to keep water out.