How to Clean Gourds

Cleaning a dried gourd can be a daunting process.  The gourd may be covered with fuzzy mold or ugly peeling skin that is holding on strong.  But with some patience to allow the gourd to soak and a little bit of elbow grease cleaning gourds is easy.

A dried gourd consists of a hard shell that feels much like wood and thin skin on the outside.  Until the dried gourd has been soaked you may not be able to distinguish that there is a layer of skin, but after a good soak, it can be scraped off leaving a clean smooth beige gourd.

Do You Want A Naturally Decorated Or Bare Gourd?

The qualities of the gourd skin vary quite a bit depending on the gourd itself and the drying conditions.  Gourds dried indoors end up with elaborate patterns of mold that stains the gourd. Occasionally a gourd dried outdoors will end up with these patterns as well. The patterns can be quite beautiful and look great as part of many projects. If you plan to work with these natural patterns I go over the process in detail in this article: How To Make Naturally Decorated Birdhouse Gourd.

If you want your finished gourd to be as clear of blemishes as possible keep reading. I recommend cleaning the gourd down to the smooth shell for any project where the outside of the gourd will be covered such as with painted gourds.

Gourds dried outdoors with exposure to the weather are generally much easier to clean bare than ones dried indoors.  They do not get much if any molds on them and the skin breaks and peels from rain, snow, and freezing-thawing cycles making it easier to scrap off. 

Bleach Solution For Cleaning Gourds

I recommend using a mild bleach solution to clean gourds.  This makes sure there is no live mold on your gourd that could continue to grow or make anybody sick.  Simply add a bit of bleach to your soak water.  You need very little.  You are aiming for about a 1:30 ratio of bleach to water.  This translates to about 1/4 cup for a sinkful of water. 

Bleach alternatives such as hydrogen peroxide will work as well. Anything that kills mold.

How To Clean A Gourd

Whenever possible I recommend cleaning gourds outdoors. It can be messy especially if doing many gourds at once.

Supplies to Clean Gourds

  • washtub – Anything that is big enough to submerge your gourds and can hold water will work.  A tub of water instead of a sink works best as cleaning gourds make a lot of mess that can clog a sink.
  • bleach  or another disinfectant such as hydrogen peroxide.
  • rags/towels of various sizes- These are used to wipe the gourd as well as clean up.
  • sand – optional but it makes the process much faster
  • rough sponge or nail brush – Cheap plastic sponges work great.
  • scrapper – My favorite tool is a small plastic putty knife but I have used everything from a plastic spoon to an old credit card with success.  Avoid metal because it can scratch the gourd. (not shown in picture)
  • plastic gloves – To protect your hands from the bleach water.

Step by Step: How To Clean Off Gourd Skin

  1. Fill the washtub with water and add a small amount of bleach. Put on gloves to protect your hands from the bleach
  2. Soak your gourds in the water. They will float so move them around to get all sides wet then cover the part of the gourds above water with wet rags so that the entire gourd continues to soak.  They need to be left to soak for about 15 min. Make sure to move them around every once in a while and wet the rags if they are getting dry to make sure all sides are staying wet.
  3. If you have sand use a rag and a handful of sand to rub your gourd. Much of the skin will be removed from this. Soak more if needed and repeat. If you do not have sand a rough sponge will work as well.
  4. Use your scraper to get off any stuck-on skin.  Again, if there are any stubborn areas resoak and try again.  Some gourds end up with some spots that are impossible to get off, this is especially true with large black stains on gourds dried indoors. You may be able to sand some of these very stubborn spots off once the gourd is dry but for some, my best advice is to incorporate the stains into your artwork.  🙂
  5. Give the gourd a final rinse before it is fully dried.  Any bits left on the outside can stick back on when they dry.
  6. Leave the gourd in the sun, in front of a fan, or on a vent to make sure it dries fully.

Now you have a beautiful blank canvas to start your gourd art!

Need to clean the inside of the gourd too?