diff --git a/armi/utils/directoryChangers.py b/armi/utils/directoryChangers.py
index 07bc871d14..8cd84a6565 100644
--- a/armi/utils/directoryChangers.py
+++ b/armi/utils/directoryChangers.py
@@ -194,14 +194,20 @@ def __init__(
             self, root, filesToMove, filesToRetrieve, dumpOnException
         )
 
-        # If no root dir is given, the default path to grab in context is cwd(), which
-        # can lead to deleting any directory on the hard drive. So this check is here
-        # to ensure that if we grab a path from context, it is a proper temp dir.
-        if not root:
+        # If no root dir is given, the default path comes from context.getFastPath, which
+        # *might* be relative to the cwd, making it possible to delete unintended files.
+        # So this check is here to ensure that if we grab a path from context, it is a
+        # proper temp dir.
+        # That said, since the TemporaryDirectoryChanger *always* responsible for
+        # creating its destination directory, it may always be safe to delete it
+        # regardless of location.
+        if root is None:
             root = armi.context.getFastPath()
-            # ARMIs temp dirs are in an /.armi/ directory: validate this is a temp dir.
-            if ".armi" not in os.path.normpath(root).split(os.path.sep):
-                raise ValueError("Temporary directory not found.")
+            # ARMIs temp dirs are in an context.APP_DATA directory: validate this is a temp dir.
+            if pathlib.Path(context.APP_DATA) not in pathlib.Path(root).parents:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "Temporary directory not in a safe location for deletion."
+                )
 
         # make the tmp dir, if necessary
         if not os.path.exists(root):
diff --git a/armi/utils/pathTools.py b/armi/utils/pathTools.py
index 9ccbdb27ae..139fd69560 100644
--- a/armi/utils/pathTools.py
+++ b/armi/utils/pathTools.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import pathlib
 from time import sleep
 
+from armi import context
 from armi import runLog
 
 
@@ -239,14 +240,10 @@ def cleanPath(path):
 
     """
     valid = False
-    if os.path.exists(path):
-        runLog.extra("Clearing all files in {}".format(path))
-    else:
-        runLog.extra("Nothing to clean in {}. Doing nothing. ".format(path))
+    if not os.path.exists(path):
         return True
 
     for validPath in [
-        ".armi",
         "armiruns",
         "failedruns",
         "mc2run",
@@ -258,6 +255,9 @@ def cleanPath(path):
         if validPath in path.lower():
             valid = True
 
+    if pathlib.Path(context.APP_DATA) in pathlib.Path(path).parents:
+        valid = True
+
     if not valid:
         raise Exception(
             "You tried to delete {0}, but it does not seem safe to do so.".format(path)