Rub A Little Floor Cleaner On Your Halloween Pumpkins And Thank Us Later

Decorating your front porch for fall with pumpkins is a great way to embrace the season and celebrate Halloween, but oftentimes the natural decorations rot too quickly. Before the end of October arrives, they may begin to decay, but with floor cleaner you'll be able to make them last longer. Not only will cleaner help to keep your pumpkins fresh, but it can make them shinier as well. While this preservation method works well for uncarved pumpkins, it likely won't preserve the inside. Once you take a knife to the gourd, it will likely rot in less than a week. Instead of carving, try using markers, paint, or glitter glue to decorate your pumpkins. This way, you can still provide your decorations with a unique and festive look while also making them last longer.

If you want them to last throughout the season, it's important to choose pumpkins that aren't already rotting. When purchasing your gourds, make sure there are no soft areas, which can often appear by the stem first. Washing them once you bring them home could also help them last longer. A little water and dish soap will get rid of any bacteria or dirt on the surface. Vinegar and water may also be used to clean your gourds before setting them out.

Most types of floor cleaners will be able to make your pumpkins last longer, but floor wax and acrylic liquid cleaners are the most effective. After you've washed your gourd, dampen an old cloth with the floor cleaner of your choice. Lightly rub the surface of your pumpkin, covering every spot with the solution, and allow it to dry. Do not rinse the cleaner off, as this will prevent it from working. With a little cleaning solution, your gourd will appear polished and should last for several weeks longer than it typically would. In some cases, floor cleaner might even be able to preserve these natural decorations for up to a year.  This will allow you to reuse your pumpkins to decorate for Thanksgiving as well. 

When you're ready to get rid of your gourds, make sure you throw them away in a trash can with a secure lid. This is because the chemicals coating your pumpkins could make animals sick if left outside for them to eat. Further, composting the preserved pumpkins is also not good for the environment. However, you may find that they last much longer with this trick, so you may not have to throw them out for quite some time.