diff --git a/telegram/jobqueue.py b/telegram/jobqueue.py
index 03e3b4c25..7e0cc2458 100644
--- a/telegram/jobqueue.py
+++ b/telegram/jobqueue.py
@@ -41,10 +41,9 @@ class JobQueue(object):
 
     Args:
         bot (Bot): The bot instance that should be passed to the jobs
-
-    Keyword Args:
         tick_interval (Optional[float]): The interval this queue should check
             the newest task in seconds. Defaults to 1.0
+
     """
 
     def __init__(self, bot, tick_interval=1.0):
diff --git a/telegram/updater.py b/telegram/updater.py
index 651619330..68344f841 100644
--- a/telegram/updater.py
+++ b/telegram/updater.py
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ class Updater:
         workers (Optional[int]): Amount of threads in the thread pool for
             functions decorated with @run_async
         bot (Optional[Bot]):
+        job_queue_tick_interval(Optional[float]): The interval the queue should
+            be checked for new tasks. Defaults to 1.0
 
     Raises:
         ValueError: If both `token` and `bot` are passed or none of them.
@@ -92,7 +94,8 @@ class Updater:
         self.__threads = []
         """:type: list[Thread]"""
 
-    def start_polling(self, poll_interval=0.0, timeout=10, network_delay=2):
+    def start_polling(self, poll_interval=0.0, timeout=10, network_delay=2,
+                      clean=False):
         """
         Starts polling updates from Telegram.
 
@@ -101,14 +104,19 @@ class Updater:
                 updates from Telegram in seconds. Default is 0.0
             timeout (Optional[float]): Passed to Bot.getUpdates
             network_delay (Optional[float]): Passed to Bot.getUpdates
+            clean (Optional[bool]): Whether to clean any pending updates on
+                Telegram servers before actually starting to poll. Default is
+                False.
 
         Returns:
             Queue: The update queue that can be filled from the main thread
-        """
 
+        """
         with self.__lock:
             if not self.running:
                 self.running = True
+                if clean:
+                    self._clean_updates()
 
                 # Create & start threads
                 self._init_thread(self.dispatcher.start, "dispatcher")
@@ -140,7 +148,8 @@ class Updater:
                       port=80,
                       url_path='',
                       cert=None,
-                      key=None):
+                      key=None,
+                      clean=False):
         """
         Starts a small http server to listen for updates via webhook. If cert
         and key are not provided, the webhook will be started directly on
@@ -154,6 +163,10 @@ class Updater:
             url_path (Optional[str]): Path inside url
             cert (Optional[str]): Path to the SSL certificate file
             key (Optional[str]): Path to the SSL key file
+            clean (Optional[bool]): Whether to clean any pending updates on
+                Telegram servers before actually starting the webhook. Default
+                is False.
+
 
         Returns:
             Queue: The update queue that can be filled from the main thread
@@ -162,6 +175,8 @@ class Updater:
         with self.__lock:
             if not self.running:
                 self.running = True
+                if clean:
+                    self._clean_updates()
 
                 # Create & start threads
                 self._init_thread(self.dispatcher.start, "dispatcher"),
@@ -258,6 +273,12 @@ class Updater:
 
         self.httpd.serve_forever(poll_interval=1)
 
+    def _clean_updates(self):
+        self.logger.info('Cleaning updates from Telegram server')
+        updates = self.bot.getUpdates()
+        while updates:
+            updates = self.bot.getUpdates(updates[-1].update_id + 1)
+
     def stop(self):
         """
         Stops the polling/webhook thread, the dispatcher and the job queue
diff --git a/tests/test_updater.py b/tests/test_updater.py
index 5e26b6825..46778dea1 100644
--- a/tests/test_updater.py
+++ b/tests/test_updater.py
@@ -301,6 +301,15 @@ class UpdaterTest(BaseTest, unittest.TestCase):
         sleep(.1)
         self.assertEqual(self.received_message, 'Test Error 1')
 
+    def test_cleanBeforeStart(self):
+        self._setup_updater('')
+        d = self.updater.dispatcher
+        d.addTelegramMessageHandler(self.telegramHandlerTest)
+        self.updater.start_polling(0.01, clean=True)
+        sleep(.1)
+        self.assertEqual(self.message_count, 0)
+        self.assertIsNone(self.received_message)
+
     def test_errorOnGetUpdates(self):
         self._setup_updater('', raise_error=True)
         d = self.updater.dispatcher
@@ -396,7 +405,6 @@ class UpdaterTest(BaseTest, unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(self.received_message, (('This', 'regex group'),
                                                  {'testgroup': 'regex group'}))
 
-
     def test_runAsyncWithAdditionalArgs(self):
         self._setup_updater('Test6', messages=2)
         d = self.updater.dispatcher