Normally is customary to avoid wearing freshly laundered clothes during the 9 days. Does this apply these days when freshly laundered clothes are no longer exciting and new? Perhaps the parallel today ought to be freshly dry cleaned clothes?
@curiouser here cites Shu"T Siach Nachum by R. Nachum Rabinovitz who apparently holds this. Does anyone know where this responsum can be found, or of other poskim who concur?
In the book "Pninei-Halach" it is written that also today we have to keep this tradition.
So what is the difference between laundry and lets say taking a shower? Why this we do keep and this we don't? From my understanding is that a Minhag we have to keep also if the reason is gone, unless there is also a reason why not to keep it. In the example i brought, the reason why we were not able to take a shower was because it was a happy occasion in the past. Today it isn't, but that is not enough to let us take a shower we are able to take these days a shower in the 9 days because it is hard not take a shower those days. So true these days when freshly laundered clothes are no longer exciting and new, but it is not difficult to keep the minhag (It is not too hard to wear clothes that are not completely fresh).
Best wishes!
R. Nachum Rabinovitch wrote to me that it is permissible to do laundry during the 9 days, and that there is no difference between dry-cleaning and other sorts of laundry.
We are compared to a mourner during Shloshim, who may not clean or launder his clothing, nor may he wear freshly laundered clothing. This is clearly stated in Yoreh Deah and commentaries. The idea behind this is not that it is exciting and new to wear freshly cleaned clothing, but we do this to help us feel the mourning of the Bais Hamikdosh (Temple). By not wearing freshly laundered clothing, our simcha is lessened and it states in the Mishna Brura 25 that anyone who properly mourns over Jerusalem will be rewarded by experiencing its rejoicing.
