diff --git a/FTL.h b/FTL.h
index bdf155cbc..f07dbe4a7 100644
--- a/FTL.h
+++ b/FTL.h
@@ -223,4 +223,4 @@ bool daemonmode;
 bool database;
 long int lastdbindex;
 bool travis;
-bool needDBGC;
+bool DBdeleteoldqueries;
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6cb3df85e..e619e81f4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -30,11 +30,10 @@ CC=gcc
 HARDENING_FLAGS=-fstack-protector -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -O3 -Wl,-z,relro,-z,now -pie -fPIE
 DEBUG_FLAGS=-rdynamic -fno-omit-frame-pointer #-fsanitize=address
 # -DSQLITE_OMIT_LOAD_EXTENSION: This option omits the entire extension loading mechanism from SQLite, including sqlite3_enable_load_extension() and sqlite3_load_extension() interfaces. (needs -ldl linking option, otherwise)
-# -DSQLITE_THREADSAFE=0: causes all of the mutex and thread-safety logic in SQLite to be omitted. This is the single compile-time option that makes the most difference in optimizing the performance of SQLite.
 # -DSQLITE_DEFAULT_MEMSTATUS=0: This setting causes the sqlite3_status() interfaces that track memory usage to be disabled. This helps the sqlite3_malloc() routines run much faster, and since SQLite uses sqlite3_malloc() internally, this helps to make the entire library faster.
 # -DSQLITE_OMIT_DEPRECATED: Omitting deprecated interfaces and features will not help SQLite to run any faster. It will reduce the library footprint, however. And it is the right thing to do.
 # -DSQLITE_OMIT_PROGRESS_CALLBACK: The progress handler callback counter must be checked in the inner loop of the bytecode engine. By omitting this interface, a single conditional is removed from the inner loop of the bytecode engine, helping SQL statements to run slightly faster.
-SQLITEFLAGS=-DSQLITE_OMIT_LOAD_EXTENSION -DSQLITE_THREADSAFE=0 -DSQLITE_DEFAULT_MEMSTATUS=0 -DSQLITE_OMIT_DEPRECATED -DSQLITE_OMIT_PROGRESS_CALLBACK -DSQLITE_OMIT_MEMORYDB
+SQLITEFLAGS=-DSQLITE_OMIT_LOAD_EXTENSION -DSQLITE_DEFAULT_MEMSTATUS=0 -DSQLITE_OMIT_DEPRECATED -DSQLITE_OMIT_PROGRESS_CALLBACK -DSQLITE_OMIT_MEMORYDB
 CCFLAGS=-I$(IDIR) -Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-parameter -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64 $(HARDENING_FLAGS) $(DEBUG_FLAGS) $(CFLAGS) $(SQLITEFLAGS)
 LIBS=-pthread
 
diff --git a/database.c b/database.c
index 501400764..1138356b2 100644
--- a/database.c
+++ b/database.c
@@ -12,10 +12,19 @@
 
 sqlite3 *db;
 bool database = false;
+bool DBdeleteoldqueries = false;
 long int lastdbindex = 0;
 
+pthread_mutex_t dblock;
+
 enum { DB_VERSION, DB_LASTTIMESTAMP };
 
+void dbclose(void)
+{
+	sqlite3_close(db);
+	pthread_mutex_unlock(&dblock);
+}
+
 float get_db_filesize(void)
 {
 	struct stat st;
@@ -37,10 +46,11 @@ static int callback(void *NotUsed, int argc, char **argv, char **azColName){
 
 bool dbopen(void)
 {
+	pthread_mutex_lock(&dblock);
 	int rc = sqlite3_open_v2(FTLfiles.db, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE, NULL);
 	if( rc ){
 		logg("Cannot open database: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
-		sqlite3_close(db);
+		dbclose();
 		return false;
 	}
 
@@ -82,18 +92,13 @@ bool dbquery(const char *format, ...)
 
 }
 
-void dbclose(void)
-{
-	sqlite3_close(db);
-}
-
 bool db_create(void)
 {
 	bool ret;
 	int rc = sqlite3_open_v2(FTLfiles.db, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE | SQLITE_OPEN_CREATE, NULL);
 	if( rc ){
 		logg("Can't create database: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
-		sqlite3_close(db);
+		dbclose();
 		return false;
 	}
 	// Create Queries table in the database
@@ -128,17 +133,24 @@ void db_init(void)
 	int rc = sqlite3_open_v2(FTLfiles.db, &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE, NULL);
 	if( rc ){
 		logg("Cannot open database: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
-		sqlite3_close(db);
+		dbclose();
 
 		logg("Creating new (empty) database");
 		if (!db_create())
 		{
-			logg("Database not available ");
+			logg("Database not available");
 			database = false;
 			return;
 		}
 	}
 
+	if (pthread_mutex_init(&dblock, NULL) != 0)
+	{
+		printf("FATAL: DB mutex init failed\n");
+		// Return failure
+		exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+	}
+
 	logg("Database initialized");
 	database = true;
 }
@@ -161,7 +173,7 @@ int db_get_FTL_property(unsigned int ID)
 	rc = sqlite3_prepare(db, querystring, -1, &dbstmt, NULL);
 	if( rc ){
 		printf("Cannot read from database: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
-		sqlite3_close(db);
+		dbclose();
 		return -1;
 	}
 	free(querystring);
@@ -170,7 +182,7 @@ int db_get_FTL_property(unsigned int ID)
 	sqlite3_step(dbstmt);
 	if( rc ){
 		printf("Cannot evaluate in database: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
-		sqlite3_close(db);
+		dbclose();
 		return -1;
 	}
 
@@ -222,18 +234,13 @@ int get_number_of_queries_in_DB(void)
 	return result;
 }
 
-void *DB_thread(void *val)
+void save_to_DB(void)
 {
-	// Set thread name
-	prctl(PR_SET_NAME,"DB",0,0,0);
-
-	// Lock FTL's data structure, since it is likely that it will be changed here
-	enable_thread_lock("DB_thread");
-
+	// Open database
 	if(!dbopen())
 	{
-		logg("Failed to open DB in thread");
-		return NULL;
+		logg("Failed to open DB in save_to_DB()");
+		return;
 	}
 
 	int lasttimestamp = db_get_FTL_property(DB_LASTTIMESTAMP);
@@ -296,7 +303,7 @@ void *DB_thread(void *val)
 		sqlite3_reset(stmt);
 
 		if( rc != SQLITE_DONE ){
-			logg("DB thread - SQL error: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
+			logg("save_to_DB() - SQL error: %s", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
 			saved_error++;
 			continue;
 		}
@@ -332,26 +339,15 @@ void *DB_thread(void *val)
 		if(saved_error > 0)
 			logg("        Queries NOT stored in DB: %u (due to an error)", saved_error);
 	}
-
-	// Release thread lock
-	disable_thread_lock("DB_thread");
-
-	return NULL;
 }
 
-void *DB_GC_thread(void *val)
+void delete_old_queries_in_DB(void)
 {
-	// Set thread name
-	prctl(PR_SET_NAME,"DB-GC",0,0,0);
-
-	// Need no lock on FTL's data structure, so this can work
-	// in parallel w/o affecting FTL's core responsibilities
-
+	// Open database
 	if(!dbopen())
 	{
-		logg("Failed to open DB in GC thread");
-		database = true;
-		return NULL;
+		logg("Failed to open DB in delete_old_queries_in_DB()");
+		return;
 	}
 
 	int timestamp = time(NULL) - config.maxDBdays * 86400;
@@ -359,9 +355,9 @@ void *DB_GC_thread(void *val)
 	if(!dbquery("DELETE FROM queries WHERE timestamp <= %i", timestamp))
 	{
 		dbclose();
-		logg("DB-GC error: Deleting queries due to age of entries failed!");
+		logg("delete_old_queries_in_DB(): Deleting queries due to age of entries failed!");
 		database = true;
-		return NULL;
+		return;
 	}
 
 	// Close database
@@ -369,5 +365,30 @@ void *DB_GC_thread(void *val)
 
 	// Re-enable database actions
 	database = true;
+}
+
+void *DB_thread(void *val)
+{
+	// Set thread name
+	prctl(PR_SET_NAME,"DB",0,0,0);
+
+	if(!DBdeleteoldqueries)
+	{
+		// Lock FTL's data structure, since it is likely that it will be changed here
+		enable_thread_lock("DB_thread");
+
+		// Save data to database
+		save_to_DB();
+
+		// Release thread lock
+		disable_thread_lock("DB_thread");
+	}
+	else
+	{
+		// No thread locks needed
+		delete_old_queries_in_DB();
+		DBdeleteoldqueries = false;
+	}
+
 	return NULL;
 }
diff --git a/main.c b/main.c
index a9ee153bf..2634f397b 100644
--- a/main.c
+++ b/main.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 char * username;
 bool needGC = false;
+bool needDBGC = false;
 
 int main (int argc, char* argv[]) {
 	username = getUserName();
@@ -112,20 +113,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[]) {
 			}
 
 			if(database)
-			{
-				// Disable any other DB accesses while doing this and wait one second
-				// so that currently running transactions can still finish
-				database = false;
-				sleepms(1000);
-
-				// Launch DB GC thread
-				pthread_t DBGCthread;
-				if(pthread_create( &DBGCthread, &attr, DB_GC_thread, NULL ) != 0)
-				{
-					logg("Unable to open DB GC thread. Exiting...");
-					killed = 1;
-				}
-			}
+				DBdeleteoldqueries = true;
 
 			// Avoid immediate re-run of GC thread
 			while(((time(NULL) - GCdelay)%GCinterval) == 0)
diff --git a/request.c b/request.c
index b2171be51..00631fa16 100644
--- a/request.c
+++ b/request.c
@@ -114,11 +114,6 @@ void process_request(char *client_message, int *sock)
 		processed = true;
 		getDBstats(sock);
 	}
-	else if(command(client_message, ">dbclean"))
-	{
-		processed = true;
-		needDBGC = true;
-	}
 
 	// End of queryable commands
 	if(processed)
diff --git a/routines.h b/routines.h
index feb7db438..356359a11 100644
--- a/routines.h
+++ b/routines.h
@@ -70,4 +70,3 @@ void *GC_thread(void *val);
 void db_init(void);
 void *DB_thread(void *val);
 int get_number_of_queries_in_DB(void);
-void *DB_GC_thread(void *val);