Pumpkin lanterns don’t have to rot and turn to mush in just a matter of a days, with one household hack keeping germs away. Here’s all you need to know about the cheap hack
Halloween is just around the corner – so start dusting off your plastic skeletons, fake cobwebs, and light-up pumpkins to get into the spooky spirit! The holiday can be one of the most fun times of year and one thing in particular is often a favourite with both young and old – pumpkin carving.
Scooping out all the seeds, mapping out your pumpkin’s face, and carefully cutting out its features, once Jack-o’-lanterns are done, they can be the perfect addition to get into the Halloween mood.
For a few glorious days, your porch or front garden gets transformed, inviting trick-or-treaters in with their eerie glow. But before long, all that hard work goes down the drain as the pumpkins soon begin to sag, leak, and rot. What was once fun turns into a slimy, smelly mess that can be a far less joyful experience to clean up.
Thankfully though, it doesn’t have to be that way. One simple trick can extend the shelf life of the decoration for months, even allowing it to last until Christmas.
Carved pumpkins begin their fast decline because once they have been cut, the living plant tissue becomes more exposed to germs and bacteria in the air, so once you carve, the clock races.
Once moisture gathers, enzymes soon start to break down the cell walls, and after just a handful of days, they could have eaten through the whole thing, breaking it down to a gooey mess on your doorstep.
But with one little household trick, you can keep the Halloween spirit going for much longer. All it takes is a good spray of white vinegar.
Posting the often unknown trick on her TikTok page, Olivia Lathwell revealed that she’s been using the trick for the past few years, and it can make your pumpkin last for months.
In the video, she said: “Last year, my pumpkins lasted up to four months, and I’m going to show you how.
“Basically, spraying them with this [white vinegar]. Just let the vinegar seep in, and the pumpkins will last you until Christmas.”
The household hack is staggeringly simple and won’t set you back much either, with a bottle of white vinegar priced at just 35p at Tesco.
White vinegar contains acetic acid, which lowers the surface pH of the pumpkin. Most bacteria and moulds that cause decay prefer a more neutral environment; the acidic spray makes the carved flesh a far less friendly place for them to grow.
It may be wise to give a quick top up every few days to ensure the best results.
Vinegar also has mild antiseptic properties that reduce the number of spores and microbes on the surface, and because it’s water-based, it helps displace standing moisture that would otherwise encourage slime.
In short, you’re creating an environment that microbes don’t like, while keeping the pumpkin’s exposed flesh cleaner and drier.