diff --git a/utils/backup_mails b/utils/backup_mails
index 3e720b7a..c441537b 100755
--- a/utils/backup_mails
+++ b/utils/backup_mails
@@ -8,6 +8,6 @@ BACKUP=/home/$USER/Mail/.Backup-`date -u +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S`
 set -e
 test ! -a $BACKUP
 cp -a $MAIL $BACKUP
-rm -f $MAIL/{cur,tmp,new}/* || true
+echo $MAIL/{cur,tmp,new}/* | xargs -n 20 rm -f || true
 find $BACKUP -type f | xargs chmod 600
 find $BACKUP -type d | xargs chmod 700