diff --git a/roles/ironic-install/defaults/main.yml b/roles/ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
index 67925091c..38ad4fc67 100644
--- a/roles/ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/roles/ironic-install/defaults/main.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 ---
+# Cleaning turns on ironic conductor clean_nodes flag
+# chich causes the nodes to be wiped after deletion.
+cleaning: true
 required_packages_ubuntu:
   - mysql-server
   - dnsmasq
diff --git a/roles/ironic-install/templates/ironic.conf.j2 b/roles/ironic-install/templates/ironic.conf.j2
index 78f9c00bb..9dc6da2ff 100644
--- a/roles/ironic-install/templates/ironic.conf.j2
+++ b/roles/ironic-install/templates/ironic.conf.j2
@@ -619,6 +619,25 @@ node_locked_retry_interval=1
 # when configdrive_use_swift is True. (string value)
 #configdrive_swift_container=ironic_configdrive_container
 
+# Cleaning is a configurable set of steps, such as erasing
+# disk drives, that are performed on the node to ensure it is
+# in a baseline state and ready to be deployed to. This is
+# done after instance deletion, and during the transition from
+# a "managed" to "available" state. When enabled, the
+# particular steps performed to clean a node depend on which
+# driver that node is managed by; see the individual driver's
+# documentation for details. NOTE: The introduction of the
+# cleaning operation causes instance deletion to take
+# significantly longer. While this provides a better and more
+# secure user experience, it does impact the service behavior,
+# and as such IS DISABLED BY DEFAULT until consuming services
+# (eg, Nova) have been updated to accommodate the additional
+# time for deletion. (boolean value)
+#clean_nodes=false
+{% if cleaning %}
+clean_nodes=true
+{% endif %}
+
 
 [console]