diff --git a/src_main/core/pistring.h b/src_main/core/pistring.h
index cb23f72d..d859081f 100755
--- a/src_main/core/pistring.h
+++ b/src_main/core/pistring.h
@@ -721,7 +721,7 @@ PICout operator <<(PICout s, const PIString & v);
 inline PIByteArray & operator <<(PIByteArray & s, const PIString & v) {s << *(PIDeque<PIChar>*)&v; return s;}
 
 //! \relatesalso PIString \relatesalso PIByteArray \brief Input operator from PIByteArray
-inline PIByteArray & operator >>(PIByteArray & s, PIString & v) {s >> *(PIDeque<PIChar>*)&v; return s;}
+inline PIByteArray & operator >>(PIByteArray & s, PIString & v) {v.clear(); s >> *(PIDeque<PIChar>*)&v; return s;}
 
 
 //! \relatesalso PIString \brief Return concatenated string