diff --git a/docs/config.rst b/docs/config.rst
index 77c8360..047e28d 100644
--- a/docs/config.rst
+++ b/docs/config.rst
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Those configuration options are documented below:
 
 .. describe:: logger
 
-    The name of the logger used by Sentry. Default: ``''``
+    The name of the logger used by Sentry.
 
     .. code-block:: javascript
 
diff --git a/lib/client.js b/lib/client.js
index 21f22be..40705b0 100644
--- a/lib/client.js
+++ b/lib/client.js
@@ -54,12 +54,11 @@ extend(Raven.prototype, {
     this.root = options.root || global.process.cwd();
     this.transport = options.transport || transports[this.dsn.protocol];
     this.sendTimeout = options.sendTimeout || 1;
-    this.release = options.release || global.process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE || '';
+    this.release = options.release || global.process.env.SENTRY_RELEASE;
     this.environment =
       options.environment ||
       global.process.env.SENTRY_ENVIRONMENT ||
-      global.process.env.NODE_ENV ||
-      '';
+      global.process.env.NODE_ENV;
 
     // autoBreadcrumbs: true enables all, autoBreadcrumbs: false disables all
     // autoBreadcrumbs: { http: true } enables a single type
@@ -68,7 +67,7 @@ extend(Raven.prototype, {
     this.maxBreadcrumbs = Math.max(0, Math.min(options.maxBreadcrumbs || 30, 100));
 
     this.captureUnhandledRejections = options.captureUnhandledRejections;
-    this.loggerName = options.logger || '';
+    this.loggerName = options.logger;
     this.dataCallback = options.dataCallback;
     this.shouldSendCallback = options.shouldSendCallback;
     this.sampleRate = typeof options.sampleRate === 'undefined' ? 1 : options.sampleRate;
@@ -266,11 +265,14 @@ extend(Raven.prototype, {
     kwargs.timestamp = new Date().toISOString().split('.')[0];
     kwargs.project = this.dsn.project_id;
     kwargs.platform = 'node';
+    kwargs.release = this.release;
 
-    // Only include release information if it is set
-    if (this.release) {
-      kwargs.release = this.release;
-    }
+    // Cleanup empty properties before sending them to the server
+    Object.keys(kwargs).forEach(function(key) {
+      if (kwargs[key] == null || kwargs[key] === '') {
+        delete kwargs[key];
+      }
+    });
 
     if (this.dataCallback) {
       kwargs = this.dataCallback(kwargs);