The owners of Dirty Laundry Milton, Haley Mees and Alicia Van Poppel, are still coming to terms with a fire that destroyed their business.
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Yesterday afternoon [Wednesday, January 3] three firefighting crews arrived at the business on the Princes Highway after a triple zero call was made by a customer at the self-serve laundromat.
The customer saw smoke coming from one of the machines, left the building and made the triple zero call.
Despite a quick response from the firefighters - the business was gutted.
"It's a big hit," Haley said about the business that had only been open for three months being destroyed.
Both Haley and Alicia were grateful that nobody was hurt in the fire.
They were also worried about nearby businesses being damaged by the fire.
The owners of the Dirty Laundry Milton want to dispel rumours about how the fire started.
"We want to make it clear that the fire did not start from lint in a machine," Haley said.
Alicia and Haley started their working day each morning by cleaning the machines and removing things like lint.
The fire is being investigated and the cause is yet to be determined.
As they ride an emotional rollercoaster, Alicia and Haley are determined to bounce back from this terrible event.
They don't know what it will look like but Alicia and Haley are planning to re-establish their business as soon as they can.
Haley said they are grateful for the support that they received from the Milton community.
As soon as news about the fire reached the community, people were calling Alicia and Haley offering all sorts of help - including the use of laundry facilities.
They are also grateful for the efforts of all the first responders who raced to help put the fire out.
Meanwhile, Boots Great Outdoors Ulladulla will be supporting a fellow small business owners by donating 10 percent of their takings made today [Thursday, January 4] to help Alicia and Haley's rebuilding efforts.