Creative Ways to Recycle Old Pantyhose

Since they were invented, pantyhose have remained a popular under garment for women around the country. They are now made in a variety of weights, knits, and colors. There are Sheers, Ultra Sheers, Control Tops, and Opaques. Personally, I’ve always thought pantyhose were a hassle to put on, as well as uncomfortable to wear. However, they have a alot of great uses around your home and garage, no matter what weight, knit or color they are.

1. Use Old Pantyhose to Wash Aquarium Gravel

We had a colorful aquarium once, and it was the focal attraction in our living room. The part of having a fish tank that I didn’t like, though, was cleaning it. The gravel was hard to handle, much less clean. I always feared pieces of it would fall into the sink drain. Until I recycled the leg of an old pair of pantyhose, that is. I poured the gravel into a cut off leg and it stayed inside nicely. To clean the gravel, I rubbed the nylon material over the gravel while I held it underneath running water. It worked great!

2. Keep the Sand Out of Water Pipes

Since we live in a rural area, we have our own water well. Our well gives us clean, fresh tasting water. Sometimes, though, when the water level gets a little low, the pump sucks up a bit of sand. It’s filtered out of our drinking water, but there was nothing to keep it out of the washing machine. And, believe me, sand and the inner workings of a washer do not mix!

I got the bright idea one day to recycle a piece of pantyhose and cover the end of the water pipe. Since the nylon material was very thin, the coupling was easy to screw back on. Voila! No more sand inside the washing machine!

3. Make Your Own Soap Bag

Wouldn’t it be handy to have a bar of soap by the outside faucet after you’ve worked outside in the garden or around the yard? Now, you can! Just place a bar of soap- or, save up soap slivers and use them- and place them in a leg you cut off an old pair of pantyhose. Hang the bag on or near your outside faucet. To use, wet your hands, then rub them on the soap inside the bag. You can even use the pantyhose to scrub stubborn dirt off your hands and arms too.

A soap bag works well while you’re camping too. Put one together and use it anywhere you need a handy way to store soap.

4. Recycle Old Pantyhose Into a Veggie Bag

I suppose potato and onion bags are designed to keep them fresh for a long period time. I was always finding my potatoes sprouting, though, or even rotting, if they came in a clear plastic bag. Onion bags seemed to work well in providing adequate ventilation. But everytime I removed an onion from the mesh bag, I ended up with onion skins on the floor below.

I remedied both problems by using a pair of pantyhose. One leg section was used for storing my potatoes, while the other was used to store onions.

5. Turn Pantyhose Into Plant Supports

I love to grow tomatoes. They’re relatively easy to plant and grow, and they make a tasty addition to the dinner table. Tomato plants or seeds turn into tall, bushy plants, and they need support to grow. So, I cut an old pair of pantyhose into strips. I then tied my tomato plants to their wooden supports with the strips. The nylon material doesn’t hurt the plants. Plus, the elasticity of the nylon gives the plants some room to grow.

6. Stuff Your Old Pantyhose!

Do you sew quilts, teddy bears, pillows, and other stuffed objects? Instead of buying bags of stuffing, you can save yourself some money and use pantyhose instead. Depending on the size of what you’re creating, you can ball up a pair of old pantyhose and use it like that. Or, you can cut up the nylon material into smaller pieces.