diff --git a/file_watcher/lastrun_file_monitor.py b/file_watcher/lastrun_file_monitor.py
index 9eac0f4..5156a8f 100644
--- a/file_watcher/lastrun_file_monitor.py
+++ b/file_watcher/lastrun_file_monitor.py
@@ -47,7 +47,8 @@ def __init__(
         self.db_updater = DBUpdater(ip=db_ip, username=db_username, password=db_password)
         self.latest_known_run_from_db = self.get_latest_run_from_db()
         logger.info("Last run in DB is: %s", self.latest_known_run_from_db)
-        if self.latest_known_run_from_db is None:
+        if (self.latest_known_run_from_db is None
+                or self.latest_known_run_from_db == 'None'):
             logger.info("Adding latest run to DB as there is no data: %s", self.last_recorded_run_from_file)
             self.update_db_with_latest_run(self.last_recorded_run_from_file)
             self.latest_known_run_from_db = self.last_recorded_run_from_file