diff --git a/doc/source/deploy/cleaning.rst b/doc/source/deploy/cleaning.rst
index 8b4cf23458..ad61168d60 100644
--- a/doc/source/deploy/cleaning.rst
+++ b/doc/source/deploy/cleaning.rst
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Enabling cleaning
 To enable cleaning, ensure your ironic.conf is set as follows: ::
 
   [conductor]
-  clean_nodes=true
+  automated_clean=true
 
 This will enable the default set of steps, based on your hardware and ironic
 drivers. If you're using an agent_* driver, this includes, by default, erasing
diff --git a/etc/ironic/ironic.conf.sample b/etc/ironic/ironic.conf.sample
index e45ffe516e..60f180b66e 100644
--- a/etc/ironic/ironic.conf.sample
+++ b/etc/ironic/ironic.conf.sample
@@ -683,11 +683,12 @@
 # unlimited. (integer value)
 #inspect_timeout=1800
 
-# Cleaning is a configurable set of steps, such as erasing
-# disk drives, that are performed on the node to ensure it is
-# in a baseline state and ready to be deployed to. This is
-# done after instance deletion, and during the transition from
-# a "managed" to "available" state. When enabled, the
+# Enables or disables automated cleaning. Automated cleaning
+# is a configurable set of steps, such as erasing disk drives,
+# that are performed on the node to ensure it is in a baseline
+# state and ready to be deployed to. This is done after
+# instance deletion as well as during the transition from a
+# "manageable" to "available" state. When enabled, the
 # particular steps performed to clean a node depend on which
 # driver that node is managed by; see the individual driver's
 # documentation for details. NOTE: The introduction of the
@@ -695,7 +696,8 @@
 # significantly longer. In an environment where all tenants
 # are trusted (eg, because there is only one tenant), this
 # option could be safely disabled. (boolean value)
-#clean_nodes=true
+# Deprecated group/name - [conductor]/clean_nodes
+#automated_clean=true
 
 # Timeout (seconds) to wait for a callback from the ramdisk
 # doing the cleaning. If the timeout is reached the node will
diff --git a/ironic/conductor/manager.py b/ironic/conductor/manager.py
index 7c03815ab8..77c26dce24 100644
--- a/ironic/conductor/manager.py
+++ b/ironic/conductor/manager.py
@@ -151,14 +151,18 @@ conductor_opts = [
                default=1800,
                help=_('Timeout (seconds) for waiting for node inspection. '
                       '0 - unlimited.')),
-    cfg.BoolOpt('clean_nodes',
+    # TODO(rloo): Remove support for deprecated name 'clean_nodes' in Newton
+    #             cycle.
+    cfg.BoolOpt('automated_clean',
                 default=True,
-                help=_('Cleaning is a configurable set of steps, such as '
-                       'erasing disk drives, that are performed on the node '
-                       'to ensure it is in a baseline state and ready to be '
-                       'deployed to. '
-                       'This is done after instance deletion, and during '
-                       'the transition from a "managed" to "available" '
+                deprecated_name='clean_nodes',
+                help=_('Enables or disables automated cleaning. Automated '
+                       'cleaning is a configurable set of steps, '
+                       'such as erasing disk drives, that are performed on '
+                       'the node to ensure it is in a baseline state and '
+                       'ready to be deployed to. This is '
+                       'done after instance deletion as well as during '
+                       'the transition from a "manageable" to "available" '
                        'state. When enabled, the particular steps '
                        'performed to clean a node depend on which driver '
                        'that node is managed by; see the individual '
@@ -859,7 +863,7 @@ class ConductorManager(base_manager.BaseConductorManager):
         LOG.debug('Starting %(type)s cleaning for node %(node)s',
                   {'type': clean_type, 'node': node.uuid})
 
-        if not manual_clean and not CONF.conductor.clean_nodes:
+        if not manual_clean and not CONF.conductor.automated_clean:
             # Skip cleaning, move to AVAILABLE.
             node.clean_step = None
             node.save()
diff --git a/ironic/tests/unit/conductor/test_manager.py b/ironic/tests/unit/conductor/test_manager.py
index 0ed5048994..022cdf6fc1 100644
--- a/ironic/tests/unit/conductor/test_manager.py
+++ b/ironic/tests/unit/conductor/test_manager.py
@@ -1360,7 +1360,7 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
                           tests_db_base.DbTestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         super(DoNodeCleanTestCase, self).setUp()
-        self.config(clean_nodes=True, group='conductor')
+        self.config(automated_clean=True, group='conductor')
         self.power_update = {
             'step': 'update_firmware', 'priority': 10, 'interface': 'power'}
         self.deploy_update = {
@@ -1627,7 +1627,6 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
     @mock.patch('ironic.drivers.modules.fake.FakePower.validate')
     def __do_node_clean_validate_fail(self, mock_validate, clean_steps=None):
         # InvalidParameterValue should be cause node to go to CLEANFAIL
-        self.config(clean_nodes=True, group='conductor')
         mock_validate.side_effect = exception.InvalidParameterValue('error')
         tgt_prov_state = states.MANAGEABLE if clean_steps else states.AVAILABLE
         node = obj_utils.create_test_node(
@@ -1650,7 +1649,7 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
 
     @mock.patch('ironic.drivers.modules.fake.FakePower.validate')
     def test__do_node_clean_automated_disabled(self, mock_validate):
-        self.config(clean_nodes=False, group='conductor')
+        self.config(automated_clean=False, group='conductor')
         node = obj_utils.create_test_node(
             self.context, driver='fake',
             provision_state=states.CLEANING,
@@ -1675,7 +1674,6 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
     def __do_node_clean_prepare_clean_fail(self, mock_prep, clean_steps=None):
         # Exception from task.driver.deploy.prepare_cleaning should cause node
         # to go to CLEANFAIL
-        self.config(clean_nodes=True, group='conductor')
         mock_prep.side_effect = exception.InvalidParameterValue('error')
         tgt_prov_state = states.MANAGEABLE if clean_steps else states.AVAILABLE
         node = obj_utils.create_test_node(
@@ -1698,7 +1696,6 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
 
     @mock.patch('ironic.drivers.modules.fake.FakeDeploy.prepare_cleaning')
     def __do_node_clean_prepare_clean_wait(self, mock_prep, clean_steps=None):
-        self.config(clean_nodes=True, group='conductor')
         mock_prep.return_value = states.CLEANWAIT
         tgt_prov_state = states.MANAGEABLE if clean_steps else states.AVAILABLE
         node = obj_utils.create_test_node(
@@ -1722,7 +1719,6 @@ class DoNodeCleanTestCase(mgr_utils.ServiceSetUpMixin,
     @mock.patch.object(conductor_utils, 'set_node_cleaning_steps')
     def __do_node_clean_steps_fail(self, mock_steps, clean_steps=None,
                                    invalid_exc=True):
-        self.config(clean_nodes=True, group='conductor')
         if invalid_exc:
             mock_steps.side_effect = exception.InvalidParameterValue('invalid')
         else:
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/automated_clean_config-0170c95ae210f953.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/automated_clean_config-0170c95ae210f953.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6acfdbfa76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/automated_clean_config-0170c95ae210f953.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+deprecations:
+  - The [conductor]/clean_nodes config is deprecated and will be removed in the
+    Newton cycle. It has been replaced by the [conductor]/automated_clean
+    config.