By Palesa Matlala
- Zoe Mtwana, 28, opened a laundromat in Doornkop in 2023 using her late mother’s pension fund after her mother died.
- Doornkop residents have faced frequent water cuts since early 2025 because of a decaying reservoir, pushing them to use laundromats.
Zoe Mtwana, 28, opened a laundromat in Doornkop in 2023 after her mother died. She used her late mother’s pension fund to buy industrial washing and drying machines and laundry detergents, and converted three backrooms to set up the laundromat.
The business struggled from the start. The Covid-19 pandemic had already cost many people their jobs. For six months, customers did not bring their laundry in to be washed.
“I didn’t have an income and I barely survived,” she said.
Mtwana resorted to selling sweets, snacks and ice pops to try to get by.
“I couldn’t survive with the money,” she said.
The laundromat started making money in 2024. Then, in early 2025, Doornkop began experiencing frequent water cuts because of a decaying reservoir. The water shortage has been hitting Doornkop and surrounding areas for more than a month.
To get water, residents in Doornkop and surrounding areas wait until midnight each night, when water is temporarily restored for about two hours. Even then, the pressure is very low.
“Because the water pressure is low, it takes longer to fill up buckets. The water doesn’t look clean to drink. We just use the water for bathing,” Mtwana said.
Mtwana said both hand washing and machine washing need a lot of water, which people in the area now have very little of at home. More residents have been coming to her laundromat as a result.
Mtwana now makes about R11,000 a month.
“I am finally running a successful business,” she said.
Pictured above: A laundromat.
Image source: Pexels
