I’ve been seeing all these tips and tricks on Pinterest for how to make your pumpkins last longer, so I figured I would try it out this year. Can you believe I have never done this before?
I always would just buy pumpkins and place them out on my porch, without doing any prep work! But it really is so easy to take these steps below in order to make them last a little while longer for the season.
I can’t wait to see how long mine hold up! Keep on reading to see just what I did!
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Washing Your Pumpkins
The first thing I did was to wash my pumpkins off. I just used a little Dawn dish soap and hot water. I scrubbed them real good to make sure I got all the dirt of of them.
Did you know that leaving the dirt on them causes the bacteria to grow on the pumpkin which will ultimately cause it to rot faster??
Cause I sure didn’t and I did not want that to happen this year. There’s really nothing more disgusting than a rotted pumpkin!
Give Your Pumpkins A Bleach Bath
After your pumpkins are all nice clean, now it’s time to let them soak in a bleach bath.
You could either use a sink or a tub for this, but I opted for a sink since I did not have that many pumpkins to begin with.
And plus, it wouldn’t take so long to fill up my sink versus my bathtub.
A good rule of thumb for a bleach bath is to use 1 tsp (or capful) of bleach per gallon of water. Once I had the bleach water ready, I placed the pumpkins in.
And also, did you know that pumpkins float?! Which is so crazy to me because they are so heavy!
But anyway, I let them soak for about 5 minutes and then flipped them over (since they were floating) to get the other side for another 5 minutes.
I’ve read differing opinions on how long to let your pumpkins soak in a bleach bath too.
I’ve seen 5 minutes, 30 minutes, and even an hour. So I am not exactly sure which one is considered “the best” but I figured I would just share with you all what I did exactly.
I also was inspired by my friend Charlotte over at Charlotte’s Happy Home to do this project as well, and I believe she soaked her pumpkins for 30 minutes.
I think it doesn’t really matter how long you soak them, just important that you do actually soak them! And it’s also important to note that the bleach will not change the color of your pumpkins which is always a good thing to know!
Drying Your Pumpkins Off
After you let your pumpkins soak for however long you want to, you just need to dry them off. I just rubbed them down real good with a towel and then placed them outside in the sun for a little bit before I started decorating the porch with them.
I shared how I decorated with them over in my Fall Home Tour so be sure to check that out if you missed it too.
Another way to make your pumpkins last even longer is to add epoxy to them after they are done drying too. I did not have any on hand, however, so I did not personally do that this time.
But, I may try to do that next year and see how that goes too!
Conclusion
So there you have it, this is so super easy and simple to do! It took me just a few minutes on a Sunday afternoon, and now I should be able to have my pumpkins last long into the fall season!
I’ve heard some people that have done this before say there pumpkins lasted until Christmas even! Can you believe that?!
I will report back and let you guys know just how long mine last too. Have y’all ever tried this trick out before? Let me know below if so!
Great tip! I just learned about the bleach bath trick last year, and it really did make a big difference in how long everything lasted. If you’re going to spend the money to bring them home for the season, you want them to last the full season! Right?
Yes! That is so nice! I love being able to do things that will make them last longer!
Your porch is so beautiful. I recently read that when your done with pumpkins you can put them out for wildlife. ( Deer birds chipmunks raccoons ect ). They love them and the Bleach is actually harmful to the creatures. You can use vinegar and it is as effective as bleach and won’t hurt the animals. I hope this is helpful and I will look for more of your pretty decorations.
Yes I read that as well. I will not be putting them outside. I will throw them in the trash because I definitely don’t want any wildlife to get harmed from it.
First of all, I am in love with your kitchen countertop! You have such a beautiful home!
I’ve never tried these tips for extending the life of decorative pumpkins, but they are brilliant! I will be sure to wash and disinfect my pumpkins before decorating this year. Thanks for the tips!
Perfect! I am so glad you will try it out for yourself this year too! Let me know how it goes!
Love your tips – I’ve been dying to buy a pumpkin but it’s so early yet. But maybe not!
Thank you. I don’t think it is too early. I always buy them near the end of September or early October!
Love your tips – I’ve been dying to buy a pumpkin but it’s so early yet. But maybe not
I am glad you share this because I have been wondering for quite sometime how to make my pumpkin last longer.
Oh perfect! I am so glad you found the post to be useful! Hopefully this trick will work for you too!
You should only use bleach to clean your pumpkins if you’re planning on putting them in the trash when you’re done with them. If you like to throw the pumpkins outside for the animals to eat the seeds, you should never use bleach. Using vinegar instead of bleach does the same thing but is animal friendly.
Yes I know that too. I was planning on tossing them in the trash when I am done using them for decor. I am not going to be feeding them to any animals.
I have never heard of this trick for making pumpkins last longer, but I LOVE it! The colors and just the presence of pumpkins always make fall more real to me, so it would be awesome to have them around a little longer before I have to toss them to the chickens.
Thanks so much for sharing!
No problem! If you do wash them in bleach though, I would not recommend tossing them to the chickens after as it can harm them! I’ve read it’s best to throw the bleach washed pumpkins away in the trash and not outside in a field where an animal could get to it for that reason.
Oh wow, fantastic post! I started buying pumpkins (tiny and bigger ones) for Halloween/October 2-3 years ago, but never knew you could wash them (and put them in bleach afterwards) to make them last longer. They seemed quite clean when I got them from the garden centre, though, reading your tips, the ones that rotten the soonest did have some dirt left on them. Can I still do all these tips even when I have had the pumpkins around for a week already?
Yes! I am sure you can! I don’t think it would harm them at all, even if you’ve already had them for a few days!
Will have to try this out, the kids are always disappointed how soon the pumpkins need to be chucked away.
I know right. It’s never fun to have to toss them out super early in the season!
That’s a really interesting and helpful post. I’ll be sure to give some of these a try later on this month.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much. So glad you found it to be helpful!
Love this! I’m going to look into why this works, and try it. Thanks!
–Sue
http://www.susanberkkoch.com/blog
Oh good! I am so glad you are going to try it out too!
Oh wow, that’s interesting! Definitely super helpful, thanks for sharing!
xoxo Olivia | https://www.oliviaandbeauty.com/
No problem! So glad you found it to be helpful!
I never knew that bleach helped pumpkins have a longer shelf life! Great tip, and perfect for the season!
Thank you, I am so glad you think so as well.
I literally never wash my pumpkins, I get them home, carve them and then wonder why they look so sad! What a helpful post for this time of year!
Rosie
Lol no worries! Hopefully this will help them last longer for you this year!
These are good tips to keep pumpkins. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you thought so!
This is perfect timing as I’m going pumpkin picking with my daughter this weekend and she’s always moaning that our pumpkins go soggy and wrinkly too soon. Genius, thank you, Charity! x
Oh yay! So glad it was perfect timing then. Have a great time pumpkin picking this weekend!
I actually had a dream about rotting pumpkins last night! How funny. This is really helpful. I have a few left over from my visit to the pumpkin patch and I’d like to keep them for as long as possible for photo purposes!
Lol that is very funny. And yes! I love having them for photo ops too!
I had no idea that soaking pumpkins in a bleach bath would help them to last longer! Even rinsing them stops them rotting as fast. I can’t wait for Halloween now!! x
Yes! You should try it this year and see how it goes for you!
Haha I think it come little dusty and we follow these steps every year in the last couple years. Thank you for the reminder!
No problem. Hopefully this works out for you too.
Perfect timing. I am bring the kids to pick out pumpkins this week, and I hate when they are rotten before the end of October. Seems like an easy process too.
Oh yay! It was super easy and I am so glad you found this post at a perfect time then!
This year I am going ALL out for pumpkins because Halloween is at home (stay safe)
Love these tips!
I hate when you have to get rid of a pumpkin 3 days after Halloween 🙁
Thank you so much! I hate that too. I want them to last through the season as long as possible!
It’s so weird to me that pumpkins float! lol I’ve never tried this before but would love anything to let my pumpkins last longer so I can buy them earlier and earlier each year!
I know right?! Isn’t that so weird? I never would have thought that!
Thanks for sharing, looks a great way to preserve them 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Thank you! It sure is! Quick and easy too!
I have always wondered this as I’ve always wanted to keep pumpkins longer! il keep this post in min when i get pumpkins!
Yay! So glad you found it to be useful then!
Wonderful tips!! I want my pumpkins to last as long as possible so thank you for sharing!
I know right?! I want them to last a long time too!
I love this post but I love your kitchen even more! Amazing!
Awe thanks so much! I really appreciate that!
Super helpful post! My pumpkins never seem to last very long, so this will be really useful! Thanks for sharing x
Sophie | http://www.loveandliterature.co.uk
Thank you so much, so glad you thought it was useful!
This is such a helpful post. I always struggle with getting my pumpkins to last so I’m definitely going to try these tips out myself.
Thank you! I am so glad you found it to be helpful!
These are great tips, I never really knew any of this before about preserving pumpkins x
https://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
Thank you so much! I am so glad you thought so!
Interesting tips to make pumpkins last! Especially the bleaching part!
Thank you! It was very interesting and fun to try out this year.
This is such useful information! I only learned about the bleach bath for pumpkins this year. I’ll have to use that when I get some pumpkins for my front stoop!
Yes! You should definitely try it out. It was my first year doing this too!
Your kitchen is beautiful, I am so jealous!
Pumpkins aren’t really a thing here but I think these are great tips. I would just stick with what you’ve done and wouldn’t bother with epoxy as I don’t like unnecessary plastic waste.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Thank you so much. I am definitely leaving them as is and not using epoxy!
Oooh I didn’t know that washing your pumpkins makes it last longer! I thought leaving the dirt helps it last longer but now I know! I like that this is fairly easy to do. Don’t need any fancy chemicals or anything to make it last long! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy ✨ exquisitely.me
Yes! So easy for sure. Even if you just wash off the dirt and don’t do the bleach bath, they still shouldn’t rot as fast just from doing that!