diff --git a/bin/disk-image-create b/bin/disk-image-create
index 4bb06f2d..2b6a94d9 100755
--- a/bin/disk-image-create
+++ b/bin/disk-image-create
@@ -335,9 +335,7 @@ if [ -n "$MAX_ONLINE_RESIZE" ]; then
 fi
 
 LOOPDEV=$(sudo losetup --show -f $TMP_IMAGE_PATH)
-# Definied here for backward compat against set -u
-export EXTRA_UNMOUNT=""
-export EXTRA_CLEANUP="detach_loopback $LOOPDEV"
+export EXTRA_UNMOUNT="detach_loopback $LOOPDEV"
 export IMAGE_BLOCK_DEVICE=$LOOPDEV
 eval_run_d block-device "IMAGE_BLOCK_DEVICE="
 sudo mkfs $MKFS_OPTS -t $FS_TYPE -L ${DIB_ROOT_LABEL} ${IMAGE_BLOCK_DEVICE}
@@ -384,13 +382,6 @@ done
 unmount_image
 cleanup_build_dir
 
-# Write zeros to free blocks to aid compression of images.
-if echo "$FS_TYPE" | grep -q "^ext" && which zerofree ; then
-    sudo zerofree $IMAGE_BLOCK_DEVICE
-fi
-# We are done with the loopback device make sure it is detached.
-$EXTRA_CLEANUP
-
 has_raw_type=
 if [ "$IS_RAMDISK" == "0" ]; then
   for IMAGE_TYPE in ${IMAGE_TYPES[@]} ; do
diff --git a/doc/source/user_guide/installation.rst b/doc/source/user_guide/installation.rst
index 2ef7b8e7..169c088d 100644
--- a/doc/source/user_guide/installation.rst
+++ b/doc/source/user_guide/installation.rst
@@ -27,11 +27,6 @@ It is recommended you check the documentation for each element you are using
 to determine if there are any additional dependencies. Of particular note is
 the need for the `dev-python/pyyaml` package on Gentoo hosts.
 
-If the zerofree utility is present on the build system and you are building
-an image with an ext filesystem zerofree will be used to zero out free
-blocks in the image. This makes the resulting images much smaller if
-compressed.
-
 
 Source Installation
 -------------------
diff --git a/lib/img-functions b/lib/img-functions
index 6285c0b9..cf817ae8 100644
--- a/lib/img-functions
+++ b/lib/img-functions
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ function unmount_image () {
     # unmount from the chroot
     # Don't use TMP_MOUNT_PATH here, it might not have been set.
     unmount_dir "$TMP_BUILD_DIR/mnt"
-
-    # Left here for backward compatibility
     if [ -n "$EXTRA_UNMOUNT" ]; then
         $EXTRA_UNMOUNT
     fi
@@ -41,9 +39,6 @@ function cleanup () {
     unmount_image
     cleanup_build_dir
     cleanup_image_dir
-    if [ -n "$EXTRA_CLEANUP" ]; then
-        $EXTRA_CLEANUP
-    fi
 }
 
 function ensure_nbd () {
diff --git a/tests/install_test_deps.sh b/tests/install_test_deps.sh
index 7925f10f..bbf66151 100755
--- a/tests/install_test_deps.sh
+++ b/tests/install_test_deps.sh
@@ -8,10 +8,8 @@ sudo apt-get install -y \
         debootstrap \
         inetutils-ping \
         kpartx \
-        zerofree \
         qemu-utils || \
     sudo yum -y install \
         debootstrap \
         kpartx \
-        zerofree \
         qemu-img