diff --git a/src/bootstrap/src/core/build_steps/clean.rs b/src/bootstrap/src/core/build_steps/clean.rs
index 679770ce0ec78..26ccfe8fe6bf5 100644
--- a/src/bootstrap/src/core/build_steps/clean.rs
+++ b/src/bootstrap/src/core/build_steps/clean.rs
@@ -139,7 +139,6 @@ fn clean_specific_stage(build: &Build, stage: u32) {
 fn clean_default(build: &Build) {
     rm_rf(&build.out.join("tmp"));
     rm_rf(&build.out.join("dist"));
-    rm_rf(&build.out.join("bootstrap"));
     rm_rf(&build.out.join("rustfmt.stamp"));
 
     for host in &build.hosts {
@@ -169,21 +168,7 @@ fn rm_rf(path: &Path) {
         }
         Ok(metadata) => {
             if metadata.file_type().is_file() || metadata.file_type().is_symlink() {
-                do_op(path, "remove file", |p| {
-                    fs::remove_file(p).or_else(|e| {
-                        // Work around the fact that we cannot
-                        // delete an executable while it runs on Windows.
-                        #[cfg(windows)]
-                        if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied
-                            && p.file_name().and_then(std::ffi::OsStr::to_str)
-                                == Some("bootstrap.exe")
-                        {
-                            eprintln!("warning: failed to delete '{}'.", p.display());
-                            return Ok(());
-                        }
-                        Err(e)
-                    })
-                });
+                do_op(path, "remove file", |p| fs::remove_file(p));
                 return;
             }