Hosiery Tips keeps small melons such as cantaloupe and muskmelons off the ground — and free of pests and disease — by making protective sleeves for them from your old pantyhose. Cut the legs off the shiny pantyhose. As the young melons begin to develop, slide each one into the foot section, and tie the nylon/spandex leg to a stake to suspend the melon above the ground. The nylon holders or your hosiery’s second life will stretch as the melons mature, while keeping them from touching the damp soil, where they would be susceptible to rot or invasion by hungry insects and other garden pests.

Here are two recycling tips in one: Save up your leftover slivers of soap, and place them in the foot section of an old nylon stocking. Knot it off, and hang it next to your outdoor faucet. Use the soap-filled stocking to quickly wash off your hands after gardening and other outdoor work without worrying about getting dirt on door handles or bathroom fixtures inside your house.

One Hosiery Tips to avoid inviting the bugs in for a bite; use a small square of shiny pantyhose to temporarily patch that hole in your window screen. You can secure the patch by simply applying some rubber cement around the hole before pressing the patch in place. When you’re ready to fix the hole with a piece of screening, peel off the nylon and the glue. If you want the patch to last a bit longer, sew it onto the screen with thread.

Want a more effective way to skim the debris off the surface of your pool water? This Hosiery Tips suggests cutting a leg off a pair of shiny pantyhose and fit it over your pool’s skimmer basket. It will catch a lot of tiny dirt particles and hairs that would otherwise make their way into — and possibly clog — your pool’s filter unit.