Water To Go Celebrates 9 Years of Offering Purified Water to Community

 in Clawson has established itself as an affordable place to get purified water, as well as a great place to meet people and hear some local news. The store, at 53 E. 14 Mile Rd., will be celebrating its ninth anniversary in April.

Water To Go is a franchise store with six other locations in Michigan. Each is personalized by its owner. Stephen Sadlowski is the keeper of Clawson's water cooler.

 “I was getting ready to retire from the Air Force and living out in Washington (state) and my wife and I were buying our water from a Water To Go Store,” Sadlowski said. “I was looking for something to do, and we started looking into (a franchise).”

Sadlowski of Warren said that the decision to locate the store in Clawson was an easy one.

“I was born and raised here. I went to school here, right down the street,” he said. “It’s a good community and it’s the kind of neighborhood you’d like to put a place like this in. So, we moved back here and opened up.”

Water To Go provides its franchisees with intricate, yet easy-to-operate equipment, which purifies water with a 12-step reverse osmosis purification system. The system removes all agents affecting the taste and healthfulness of the water, including bacteria, lead and pharmaceuticals. It uses no chemicals in the purification process.

“Reverse osmosis (or RO) was developed specifically to take seawater and process it into clean, fresh drinking water,” Sadlowski said. “We process the water before putting it through the RO (unit). We use an ion exchange (water softener), and then it goes through a carbon filter and a one-micron filter. Then, the water goes through the RO (unit), which is essentially like putting the water through a plastic bag under a lot of pressure."

Not a “super health-food guy,” Sadlowski said he always thought purified water was a good idea, making the business something he believes in.

Sadlowski said the reason he drinks purified water is the chlorine in tap water. “Why do they put chlorine in the water? To kill things,” he said. “Even before I did this, and before bottled water was any kind of big deal, I was wondering why I’d want to drink all that chlorine.”

Sadlowski said tap water can also have small amounts of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other contaminants dissolved in it, as well as potentially harmful amounts of fluoride.

Clawson’s tap water comes from the city of Detroit's water system, which gets its water from two ports, Lake Huron and the Detroit River, said Harry Drinkwine, superintendent for the Department of Public Works. 

“With … purified water, a lot of the concern is the chlorination that’s in the (municipal) water, and it’s removed in the purification process,” Drinkwine said “And there are some other particles that would be in the water that they filter as well. But in most cases, it’s a taste issue. (Chlorine) is noticeable in some areas more than others, in terms of concentration.”

Most bottled water costs about $6 for three gallons and often requires a trip to a large grocery store, Sadlowski said. At Water To Go, customers get freshly purified water for 50 cents a gallon and can fill any container they like.

Empty jugs, bottles, cisterns and crocks are sold at the store, along with other water-related products. If the water is too heavy to carry, someone will carry it to the customer’s car. “Water tellers” accepting bills and coins are located outside and are available 24 hours a day.

Frequent buyers usually opt to join the frequent buyer program, which allows a preset number of gallons to be purchased in advance, dropping the price to 40 cents per gallon. It also means Sadlowski knows the names of his best customers.

“We get a lot of repeat customers, and you hear a lot of stories,” he said. "There are a lot of families that you can watch grow.”

One repeat customer is Royal Oak resident Delaine Armstrong, a pharmacist who was convinced by her family to give Water To Go a try. “I’ve been coming here for five years and the rest of my family has been coming since it opened in 2002,” she said. “My brother George was here 10 minutes after it opened.”

Armstrong moved into a new house where the water “tasted terrible” and initially only bought “a couple of jugs” from Water To Go. She eventually transitioned to getting all of her drinking water from the store.

“I started to notice that, in my overall being, I felt better. My skin, my health, everything improved,” she said. “What goes in your body affects your body.  I’ve been drinking this nasty, chlorinated public water all these years, and … I feel much healthier now, but not overnight, of course.”

Armstrong said that although it’s “not miracle water,” Water To Go’s purified water has given her more energy, in addition to being tastier than municipal water.

“All of the chlorine and the sediments in the (city) water filter through your kidneys and your liver,” she said. “I can feel the difference if I run out of (purified) water. And, if you’re used to getting that clean crispness, and you go back to (city) water, suddenly, you can taste the chlorine a lot more.”

Armstrong also loves the atmosphere of the store.

“The hours are convenient, and everybody’s always pleasant here,” she said. It’s clean it’s convenient, and, with the machines, it’s 24/7. They’re very helpful here; it’s a great place.”

Water To Go is open 10 a.m. to 7  p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and is closed Sunday. "Water tellers" are always available; bring your own container. New visitors receive a free gallon of water.