diff --git a/http_check_telegram b/http_check_telegram
index 6c1ffd3..ec861c3 100755
--- a/http_check_telegram
+++ b/http_check_telegram
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ CONFIG=$1
 
 #Alias DB command for easy future adjustments
 SQL='sqlite3'
-alias sql="$SQL"
 
 # Check for dependencies
 if ! which $SQL >/dev/null 2>&1; then
@@ -60,26 +59,29 @@ fi
 
 #DB functions
 db_create() {
-    sql $DB "CREATE TABLE problem (
+    $SQL $DB "CREATE TABLE problem (
                 site TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
                 count INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
                 alert INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
                 sent INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0
-              );"
+              );" || return 1
 }
 db_addsite() {
-    sql $DB "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO problem (site) VALUES('$1');"
+    $SQL $DB "INSERT OR IGNORE INTO problem (site) VALUES('$1');"
+}
+db_rmsite() {
+    $SQL $DB "DELETE FROM problem WHERE site = '$1';"
 }
 db_inc() {
-    sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET count = count + 1 WHERE site = '$1' AND count < $MAX_COUNT;"
-    if [ $(sql $DB "SELECT count FROM problem WHERE site = '$1';") -ge $MAX_COUNT ]; then
-       sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET alert = 1 WHERE site = '$1';"
+    $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET count = count + 1 WHERE site = '$1' AND count < $MAX_COUNT;"
+    if [ $($SQL $DB "SELECT count FROM problem WHERE site = '$1';") -ge $MAX_COUNT ]; then
+       $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET alert = 1 WHERE site = '$1';"
     fi
 }
 db_dec() {
-    sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET count = count - 1 WHERE site = '$1' AND count > 0;"
-    if [ $(sql $DB "SELECT count FROM problem WHERE site = '$1';") -le 0 ]; then
-       sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET alert = 0 WHERE site = '$1';"
+    $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET count = count - 1 WHERE site = '$1' AND count > 0;"
+    if [ $($SQL $DB "SELECT count FROM problem WHERE site = '$1';") -le 0 ]; then
+       $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET alert = 0 WHERE site = '$1';"
     fi
 }
 
@@ -100,6 +102,10 @@ get_http_code() {
     fi
 }
 
+read_checklist() {
+    grep -v "^#\|^$" $CHKLIST | sort | uniq || return 1
+}
+
 print_time() {
     date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'
 }
@@ -111,6 +117,14 @@ FAILURE=false
 # Create database if it doesn't exist
 if [ -f $DB ]; then
     printf '%s\n' "Database found: $DB"
+    # Remove stale entries in DB no longer found in check list
+    printf '%s\n' "Pruning database..."
+    for row in $($SQL $DB "SELECT site FROM problem;"); do
+        if ! read_checklist | grep $row >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            db_rmsite "$row" && printf '%s\n' "Removing old record: $row"
+        fi
+    done
+    printf '%s\n' "Database pruning complete."
 else
     printf '%s' "Database not found at '$DB'\nCreating DB ... "
     if db_create; then
@@ -123,7 +137,7 @@ else
 fi
 
 # Check HTTP codes
-for site in $(grep -v "^#\|^$" $CHKLIST | sort | uniq); do
+for site in $(read_checklist); do
     db_addsite $site
     respcode=$(get_http_code $site)
     case $respcode in
@@ -150,33 +164,28 @@ for site in $(grep -v "^#\|^$" $CHKLIST | sort | uniq); do
     esac
 done || exit 2
 
-### # Send compiled message if any problems were found
-### if [ "$FAILURE" = "true" ]; then
-###     send_message "$MSG" && printf '%s\n' "Problems found. Message sent via Telegram bot" >&2 || printf '%s\n' "Problems found. Message sending has failed"
-### fi
-
 # Find down sites without sent alerts
-unsent=$(sql $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 1 AND sent = 0;")
-cleared=$(sql $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 0 AND sent = 1;")
-down=$(sql $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 1;")
-downlist=$(sql $DB "SELECT site FROM problem WHERE alert = 1;" | perl -p -e 's/\n/%0A/g')
+unsent=$($SQL $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 1 AND sent = 0;")
+cleared=$($SQL $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 0 AND sent = 1;")
+down=$($SQL $DB "SELECT count(*) FROM problem WHERE alert = 1;")
+downlist=$($SQL $DB "SELECT site FROM problem WHERE alert = 1;" | perl -p -e 's/\n/%0A/g')
 
 # If ANY sites have unsent alerts, send a list of ALL sites in 'alert' state
 if [ $unsent -gt 0 ]; then
     ALERT="${HEADER}%0ASites Down:%0A${downlist}"
     send_message "$ALERT" && printf '%s\n' "Problems found. Message sent via Telegram bot" >&2 || printf '%s\n' "Problems found. Message sending has failed"
-    sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET sent = 1 WHERE sent = 0 AND alert = 1;" #Prevents resending messages
+    $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET sent = 1 WHERE sent = 0 AND alert = 1;" #Prevents resending messages
 fi
 
 # If ALL sites have cleared alerts, send an all-clear
 if [ $cleared -gt 0 ]; then
-    clearlist=$(sql $DB "SELECT site FROM problem WHERE alert = 0 AND sent = 1;" | perl -p -e 's/\n/%0A/g')
+    clearlist=$($SQL $DB "SELECT site FROM problem WHERE alert = 0 AND sent = 1;" | perl -p -e 's/\n/%0A/g')
     CLEARED="${HEADER}%0AThese HTTP alerts have cleared:%0A${clearlist}"
     if [ $down -gt 0 ]; then
         CLEARED="${CLEARED}%0ASites still down:%0A${downlist}"
     fi
     send_message "$CLEARED" && printf '%s\n' "A site's alert status has cleared. Message sent via Telegram bot" >&2 || printf '%s\n' "A site's alert status has cleared. Message sending has failed"
-    sql $DB "UPDATE problem SET sent = 0 WHERE sent = 1 AND alert = 0;" #Prevents resending messages
+    $SQL $DB "UPDATE problem SET sent = 0 WHERE sent = 1 AND alert = 0;" #Prevents resending messages
 fi
 
 exit 0