How to keep pumpkins from rotting: Testing jack-o-lantern social media hacks

HOUSTON - You and your kids put elbow grease into carving your creepy Halloween pumpkins, but we know they can rot pretty quickly while sitting on the front porch.  

There’s no shortage of hacks on social media, suggesting using everything from oil, petroleum jelly, bleach and vinegar to make them last longer.

But do they work?  We put some to the test.

Putting hacks to the test

The first tip is to wash the pumpkins because they have dirt and mold spores on them.  Use a bucket of water with dish soap to wash those mold spores off.  That’s supposed to help make them last longer.

The test:

Then we recruited FOX 26 staffers to roll up their sleeves and carve their creations.  

"She has a little snaggle tooth, but she is still pretty," said Terrian Spurs, showing off her Jack O'Lanters.

Producer Brittany Krugel and Thomas Mead with our sales department carved creative faces on their pumpkins, too.

We left Brittany's pumpkin untreated as our control in this experiment.  

Then, Terrian coated her pumpkin inside and out with petroleum jelly to keep it moist.

Next, we put one part of cleaning vinegar to ten parts water and soaked Thomas' pumpkin in it for 30 minutes.

And finally, we added bleach to water and soaked my jack-o-lantern for 30 minutes as well.

Then we set the pumpkins outside for one week.

Our results:

Thomas' pumpkin, soaked in vinegar and water, was very moldy and attracted many flying insects.

Brittany's untreated had some mold, but fared well overall after a week.  

My pumpkin, soaked in bleach water, was also growing serious mold throughout.

The pumpkin that stayed fresh looking was Terrian's pumpkin, coated in Vaseline.  Both the surface inside and outside the pumpkin stayed moist, and it didn't seem to attract any insects.

Just remember, oil and petroleum jelly are flammable, so don't use a lit candle inside any pumpkin that's been treated with them.