During the week of Tisha B’Ab, it is forbidden to wear freshly-laundered garments or use freshly-laundered bedding. It is forbidden to wear fresh garments or use fresh bedding from after the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Ab, until and including the day of Tisha B’Ab. Therefore, if a person normally changes their linens every Monday, this year they should not change the linens until Wednesday.
Hacham Ovadia Yosef rules that one may use fresh linens for a guest who stays in his home during the week of Tisha B’Ab. People generally make beds for guests with fresh linens for hygienic purposes, and this is permissible even during the week of Tisha B’Ab, when using fresh linens is generally forbidden.
Another exception is made in the case of a Tallit that had just been dry cleaned. If a person had given his Tallit to the dry cleaners and had not worn it since picking it up until the week of Tisha B’Ab, he may nevertheless wear it during this week. The Sages did not apply this enactment to situations involving a Misva, and thus one may wear a freshly-cleaned Tallit during the week of Tisha B’Ab, as wearing a Tallit constitutes a Misva.
It is permissible to iron wrinkled clothes during the week of Tisha B’Ab. If a person has a shirt, for example, which he had worn the previous day, and now he wants to iron the shirt to remove the wrinkles before wearing it again, he may do so and then wear the shirt. Ironing does not clean the shirt, and Halacha does not require a person to wear creased garments during the week of Tisha B’Ab. Therefore, it is permissible to iron garments to remove wrinkles the week of Tisha B’Ab.
Summary: It is forbidden to wear freshly-laundered clothing or use freshly-laundered linens during the week of Tisha B’Ab. One may, however, use freshly-laundered linens when making a bed for a guest who comes during the week of Tisha B’Ab. It is permissible during this week to wear a freshly-cleaned Tallit and to iron garments to remove wrinkles.
