15 Uses For Old Nylons

Don’t let a run in nylons relegate them to the landfill. Nylon is one of those materials whose properties give it extended life beyond merely hugging legs. Life such as:

Stake up plants. Flexible and durable, nylons are perfect for staking up tomatoes or other plants in the garden. They will hold up even the heaviest of plants, while still stretching enough to assure that they don’t choke off growing stems and branches.

Store onions. Onions such as Vidalias will breath and last longer if you store them in an old nylon leg. Simply put an onion into the toe of the nylon, tie a knot, add an onion, tie a knot… you get the idea. For optimum freshness and as conversational pieces, store onion “legs” hanging from hooks.

Fill with soap. Filling nylons with soap is a very popular way to reuse them. You can fill them with soap scarps to make a soap scrubber (and be award-winningly frugal with your soap), or put an entire bar of soap in a leg and tie it off to use as a no-slip soap bar for kids. You can also hang a bar of nylon-soap near an outside faucet for use as a handy washer, so to speak.

Make sachets. Fill lengths of nylon with lavender, rose petals, pine needles, cedar chips or other aromatic botanicals and tie up the ends. These homemade sachets can then be secreted into closets and drawers to give them a fresh scent. In the case of the cedar chips, they will also help to ward off insects such as moths.

Clean. Placed over your hand, the static a nylon creates makes it a great lint and cat hair remover for furniture and clothing. Placed over a ruler, nylons can also be used to clean under refrigerators and other appliances.

Shine Stuff. Because they can clean without scratching, nylons are the perfect choice when it comes to shining shoes, silver and even items like candles, which can be made to look brand new.

Catch lint. Tie a length of nylon over the end of your clothes washer discharge tube to keep lint from getting into and clogging your drains.

Bungie. No, not the jumping off of bridges variety. Nylons can be used as a quick automotive bungie cord fix to tie things down or keep an over-full trunk closed. You can even use nylons as a very temporary fan belt in case of a remote break-down.

Make toys. If it plays with toys, it will probably love a good used pair of nylons. For dogs, tie a tennis ball into the toe. For cats, fill it with scraps of cloth and a little catnip. For kids, roll it up into a safe ball that can be batted or racketed around the house with little fear of breakage.

Block drafts. You can easily make a draft “snake” by filling a nylon leg with sand or cloth and tying off both ends. Make a few of them and lay them along the bottoms of your outer doors to cut down on drafts.

Tie up cords. Use strips of nylon in your home office or entertainment room to tie up computer or television cords. This will keep them tidy, and you can even put up hooks to hang the nylon ties from to keep all cords off the floor.

Store wrapping paper. An open roll of wrapping paper can be kept wrinkle and dust free by slipping it into a nylon leg.

Keep the hair out of your eyes. Old nylons can be used as disposable headbands or to tie up ponytails.

Make a bird feeder. Filled with finch seed and hung from a tree, used nylons can make a great feeder for small birds and will give your neighbors something to admire and talk about.

Filter paint. Finally, use nylons as a filter when pouring paint back into the can for storage. The fine mesh of the nylon will help to trap any old paint flakes, insects or other debris that might have collected in your paint tray.