diff --git a/include/mtl/string_stream.hpp b/include/mtl/string_stream.hpp
index 732d8aa..f461f5a 100644
--- a/include/mtl/string_stream.hpp
+++ b/include/mtl/string_stream.hpp
@@ -49,14 +49,11 @@ public:
 	 * \brief Flushes the buffer to the underlying output sequence and
 	 * clears the buffer
 	 *
-	 * By default simply clears the buffer, but can be overriden to
-	 * provide more functionality. This function is called internally when
-	 * mtl::flush and mtl::endl are piped to the stream. The derived
-	 * class must be sure to clear the buffer when finished.
+	 * By default is a NOP, but can be overriden to provide more
+	 * functionality. This function is called internally when
+	 * mtl::flush and mtl::endl are piped to the stream.
 	 */
-	virtual void flush() {
-		m_str.clear();
-	}
+	virtual void flush() { }
 
 	void clear() {
 		m_str.clear();