by Madison Briggs

Created on: February 18, 2008

My wife retired her supply of pantyhose, when she decided to be a stay at home mother ten years ago. After the first few years, finding old pantyhose to recycle was more challenging than finding uses for them. Fortunately for me, our daughter is now in the business world and does wear out a few now and then and is happy to pass them on to me. I will admit I have purchased brand new ones to use around the house and garden when my supplier turns to pants occasionally. There is no other product out there besides pantyhose to accomplish my gardening needs.

In the garden, I go through several pairs in the summer season. My favorite usages are:

1. Tying up tomato vines to keep them off the ground. After you place stakes around your plants, use the legs of pantyhose to wrap the vines to the stakes. The stretchy material will not cut into your vines like twine and you do not have to keep adjusting the hold like Velcro strips.

2. Use the seat part of the pantyhose to encase your cantaloupes and watermelons to keep rabbits, deer and other animals from taking a bite while you are waiting for them to fully ripen.

3. If you have deer visiting your flower or vegetable garden, wrap Irish Spring bar soap in the pantyhose and tie them around the perimeter of your beds. The strong smell with deter them from munching on your flowers and vegetation. As it rains, the soap emits more odor and the pantyhose keeps it all in a nice little package.

4. Nothing beats pantyhose for applying sevin dust to your roses and shrubs to stave off aphids. You just fill up the toe part with the dust and bounce it around your roses, then place it back into your bag for the next time you need it.

Around the pool and koi pond:

1. By covering the pool skimmer basket with one leg and toe part, it is amazing all the little particles you can catch from going through the skimmer basket and getting collected in the sand filter. When pollen or leaves start falling, using this method will save you time and money. Just make sure to rinse the hose out daily. After the swim season is over, all the little fixtures for your pump can be safely and securely stored in a section of pantyhose. It allows water to drain and air to dry so no funky buildup during storage.

2. On the koi pond, where the water flows back into the pond after circulating, I place a toe section to filter the little particles the main filter misses, especially during algae bloom and pollen season. This seems to keep my pond water much clearer.

Around the workshop:

1. I use the legs to encase my woodworking plans to keep them neat and rolled up.

2. Extra plastic, screening, roofing paper, or anything else you need to be rolled and stored, pantyhose is the perfect solution.

3. After cleaning paint brushes, wrap them in pantyhose to keep them clean and soft.

Around the house:

1. Store extra wrapping paper by slipping a leg over the roll. This works better than rubber bands that leave an indention.

2. Use the elastic waistband to secure your trash bags to the trash can to keep the bags from slipping down in the can.

If your supply is more readily available than mine, I am sure there are a lot of other good uses for recycling your pantyhose, that I have not discovered yet. I just need more pantyhose wearing females in my circle.

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