diff --git a/cmd/devp2p/internal/ethtest/suite_test.go b/cmd/devp2p/internal/ethtest/suite_test.go
index 8a2b132fa3..c5bcc3db1d 100644
--- a/cmd/devp2p/internal/ethtest/suite_test.go
+++ b/cmd/devp2p/internal/ethtest/suite_test.go
@@ -109,15 +109,13 @@ func setupGeth(stack *node.Node) error {
 	}
 
 	backend, err := eth.New(stack, &ethconfig.Config{
-		Genesis:                 &chain.genesis,
-		NetworkId:               chain.genesis.Config.ChainID.Uint64(), // 19763
-		DatabaseCache:           10,
-		TrieCleanCache:          10,
-		TrieCleanCacheJournal:   "",
-		TrieCleanCacheRejournal: 60 * time.Minute,
-		TrieDirtyCache:          16,
-		TrieTimeout:             60 * time.Minute,
-		SnapshotCache:           10,
+		Genesis:        &chain.genesis,
+		NetworkId:      chain.genesis.Config.ChainID.Uint64(), // 19763
+		DatabaseCache:  10,
+		TrieCleanCache: 10,
+		TrieDirtyCache: 16,
+		TrieTimeout:    60 * time.Minute,
+		SnapshotCache:  10,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
diff --git a/cmd/geth/config.go b/cmd/geth/config.go
index 6edcd2f012..14906a860a 100644
--- a/cmd/geth/config.go
+++ b/cmd/geth/config.go
@@ -276,6 +276,10 @@ func deprecated(field string) bool {
 		return true
 	case "ethconfig.Config.EWASMInterpreter":
 		return true
+	case "ethconfig.Config.TrieCleanCacheJournal":
+		return true
+	case "ethconfig.Config.TrieCleanCacheRejournal":
+		return true
 	default:
 		return false
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/geth/snapshot.go b/cmd/geth/snapshot.go
index 67837261c6..fafc827604 100644
--- a/cmd/geth/snapshot.go
+++ b/cmd/geth/snapshot.go
@@ -50,7 +50,6 @@ var (
 				ArgsUsage: "<root>",
 				Action:    pruneState,
 				Flags: flags.Merge([]cli.Flag{
-					utils.CacheTrieJournalFlag,
 					utils.BloomFilterSizeFlag,
 				}, utils.NetworkFlags, utils.DatabasePathFlags),
 				Description: `
@@ -160,7 +159,7 @@ block is used.
 // Deprecation: this command should be deprecated once the hash-based
 // scheme is deprecated.
 func pruneState(ctx *cli.Context) error {
-	stack, config := makeConfigNode(ctx)
+	stack, _ := makeConfigNode(ctx)
 	defer stack.Close()
 
 	chaindb := utils.MakeChainDatabase(ctx, stack, false)
@@ -168,7 +167,6 @@ func pruneState(ctx *cli.Context) error {
 
 	prunerconfig := pruner.Config{
 		Datadir:   stack.ResolvePath(""),
-		Cachedir:  stack.ResolvePath(config.Eth.TrieCleanCacheJournal),
 		BloomSize: ctx.Uint64(utils.BloomFilterSizeFlag.Name),
 	}
 	pruner, err := pruner.NewPruner(chaindb, prunerconfig)
diff --git a/cmd/utils/flags.go b/cmd/utils/flags.go
index 6f0e570250..c8560868d7 100644
--- a/cmd/utils/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/utils/flags.go
@@ -410,18 +410,6 @@ var (
 		Value:    15,
 		Category: flags.PerfCategory,
 	}
-	CacheTrieJournalFlag = &cli.StringFlag{
-		Name:     "cache.trie.journal",
-		Usage:    "Disk journal directory for trie cache to survive node restarts",
-		Value:    ethconfig.Defaults.TrieCleanCacheJournal,
-		Category: flags.PerfCategory,
-	}
-	CacheTrieRejournalFlag = &cli.DurationFlag{
-		Name:     "cache.trie.rejournal",
-		Usage:    "Time interval to regenerate the trie cache journal",
-		Value:    ethconfig.Defaults.TrieCleanCacheRejournal,
-		Category: flags.PerfCategory,
-	}
 	CacheGCFlag = &cli.IntFlag{
 		Name:     "cache.gc",
 		Usage:    "Percentage of cache memory allowance to use for trie pruning (default = 25% full mode, 0% archive mode)",
@@ -1710,12 +1698,6 @@ func SetEthConfig(ctx *cli.Context, stack *node.Node, cfg *ethconfig.Config) {
 	if ctx.IsSet(CacheFlag.Name) || ctx.IsSet(CacheTrieFlag.Name) {
 		cfg.TrieCleanCache = ctx.Int(CacheFlag.Name) * ctx.Int(CacheTrieFlag.Name) / 100
 	}
-	if ctx.IsSet(CacheTrieJournalFlag.Name) {
-		cfg.TrieCleanCacheJournal = ctx.String(CacheTrieJournalFlag.Name)
-	}
-	if ctx.IsSet(CacheTrieRejournalFlag.Name) {
-		cfg.TrieCleanCacheRejournal = ctx.Duration(CacheTrieRejournalFlag.Name)
-	}
 	if ctx.IsSet(CacheFlag.Name) || ctx.IsSet(CacheGCFlag.Name) {
 		cfg.TrieDirtyCache = ctx.Int(CacheFlag.Name) * ctx.Int(CacheGCFlag.Name) / 100
 	}
diff --git a/cmd/utils/flags_legacy.go b/cmd/utils/flags_legacy.go
index 930b68fb91..b554deba8e 100644
--- a/cmd/utils/flags_legacy.go
+++ b/cmd/utils/flags_legacy.go
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ var ShowDeprecated = &cli.Command{
 
 var DeprecatedFlags = []cli.Flag{
 	NoUSBFlag,
+	CacheTrieJournalFlag,
+	CacheTrieRejournalFlag,
 }
 
 var (
@@ -42,6 +44,17 @@ var (
 		Usage:    "Disables monitoring for and managing USB hardware wallets (deprecated)",
 		Category: flags.DeprecatedCategory,
 	}
+	// (Deprecated June 2023, shown in aliased flags section)
+	CacheTrieJournalFlag = &cli.StringFlag{
+		Name:     "cache.trie.journal",
+		Usage:    "Disk journal directory for trie cache to survive node restarts",
+		Category: flags.PerfCategory,
+	}
+	CacheTrieRejournalFlag = &cli.DurationFlag{
+		Name:     "cache.trie.rejournal",
+		Usage:    "Time interval to regenerate the trie cache journal",
+		Category: flags.PerfCategory,
+	}
 )
 
 // showDeprecated displays deprecated flags that will be soon removed from the codebase.
diff --git a/core/blockchain.go b/core/blockchain.go
index 1110e3e5f1..61e55d575d 100644
--- a/core/blockchain.go
+++ b/core/blockchain.go
@@ -130,8 +130,6 @@ const (
 // that's resident in a blockchain.
 type CacheConfig struct {
 	TrieCleanLimit      int           // Memory allowance (MB) to use for caching trie nodes in memory
-	TrieCleanJournal    string        // Disk journal for saving clean cache entries.
-	TrieCleanRejournal  time.Duration // Time interval to dump clean cache to disk periodically
 	TrieCleanNoPrefetch bool          // Whether to disable heuristic state prefetching for followup blocks
 	TrieDirtyLimit      int           // Memory limit (MB) at which to start flushing dirty trie nodes to disk
 	TrieDirtyDisabled   bool          // Whether to disable trie write caching and GC altogether (archive node)
@@ -238,7 +236,6 @@ func NewBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis *Genesis
 	// Open trie database with provided config
 	triedb := trie.NewDatabaseWithConfig(db, &trie.Config{
 		Cache:     cacheConfig.TrieCleanLimit,
-		Journal:   cacheConfig.TrieCleanJournal,
 		Preimages: cacheConfig.Preimages,
 	})
 	// Setup the genesis block, commit the provided genesis specification
@@ -411,18 +408,6 @@ func NewBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, genesis *Genesis
 	bc.wg.Add(1)
 	go bc.updateFutureBlocks()
 
-	// If periodic cache journal is required, spin it up.
-	if bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanRejournal > 0 {
-		if bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanRejournal < time.Minute {
-			log.Warn("Sanitizing invalid trie cache journal time", "provided", bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanRejournal, "updated", time.Minute)
-			bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanRejournal = time.Minute
-		}
-		bc.wg.Add(1)
-		go func() {
-			defer bc.wg.Done()
-			bc.triedb.SaveCachePeriodically(bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanJournal, bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanRejournal, bc.quit)
-		}()
-	}
 	// Rewind the chain in case of an incompatible config upgrade.
 	if compat, ok := genesisErr.(*params.ConfigCompatError); ok {
 		log.Warn("Rewinding chain to upgrade configuration", "err", compat)
@@ -987,11 +972,6 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) Stop() {
 	if err := bc.stateCache.TrieDB().Close(); err != nil {
 		log.Error("Failed to close trie db", "err", err)
 	}
-	// Ensure all live cached entries be saved into disk, so that we can skip
-	// cache warmup when node restarts.
-	if bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanJournal != "" {
-		bc.triedb.SaveCache(bc.cacheConfig.TrieCleanJournal)
-	}
 	log.Info("Blockchain stopped")
 }
 
diff --git a/core/state/pruner/pruner.go b/core/state/pruner/pruner.go
index 1ee5a0e625..64c4a3a6eb 100644
--- a/core/state/pruner/pruner.go
+++ b/core/state/pruner/pruner.go
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@ const (
 // Config includes all the configurations for pruning.
 type Config struct {
 	Datadir   string // The directory of the state database
-	Cachedir  string // The directory of state clean cache
 	BloomSize uint64 // The Megabytes of memory allocated to bloom-filter
 }
 
@@ -241,7 +240,7 @@ func (p *Pruner) Prune(root common.Hash) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	if stateBloomRoot != (common.Hash{}) {
-		return RecoverPruning(p.config.Datadir, p.db, p.config.Cachedir)
+		return RecoverPruning(p.config.Datadir, p.db)
 	}
 	// If the target state root is not specified, use the HEAD-127 as the
 	// target. The reason for picking it is:
@@ -299,12 +298,6 @@ func (p *Pruner) Prune(root common.Hash) error {
 			log.Info("Selecting user-specified state as the pruning target", "root", root)
 		}
 	}
-	// Before start the pruning, delete the clean trie cache first.
-	// It's necessary otherwise in the next restart we will hit the
-	// deleted state root in the "clean cache" so that the incomplete
-	// state is picked for usage.
-	deleteCleanTrieCache(p.config.Cachedir)
-
 	// All the state roots of the middle layer should be forcibly pruned,
 	// otherwise the dangling state will be left.
 	middleRoots := make(map[common.Hash]struct{})
@@ -342,7 +335,7 @@ func (p *Pruner) Prune(root common.Hash) error {
 // pruning can be resumed. What's more if the bloom filter is constructed, the
 // pruning **has to be resumed**. Otherwise a lot of dangling nodes may be left
 // in the disk.
-func RecoverPruning(datadir string, db ethdb.Database, trieCachePath string) error {
+func RecoverPruning(datadir string, db ethdb.Database) error {
 	stateBloomPath, stateBloomRoot, err := findBloomFilter(datadir)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -378,12 +371,6 @@ func RecoverPruning(datadir string, db ethdb.Database, trieCachePath string) err
 	}
 	log.Info("Loaded state bloom filter", "path", stateBloomPath)
 
-	// Before start the pruning, delete the clean trie cache first.
-	// It's necessary otherwise in the next restart we will hit the
-	// deleted state root in the "clean cache" so that the incomplete
-	// state is picked for usage.
-	deleteCleanTrieCache(trieCachePath)
-
 	// All the state roots of the middle layers should be forcibly pruned,
 	// otherwise the dangling state will be left.
 	var (
@@ -497,23 +484,3 @@ func findBloomFilter(datadir string) (string, common.Hash, error) {
 	}
 	return stateBloomPath, stateBloomRoot, nil
 }
-
-const warningLog = `
-
-WARNING!
-
-The clean trie cache is not found. Please delete it by yourself after the 
-pruning. Remember don't start the Geth without deleting the clean trie cache
-otherwise the entire database may be damaged!
-
-Check the command description "geth snapshot prune-state --help" for more details.
-`
-
-func deleteCleanTrieCache(path string) {
-	if !common.FileExist(path) {
-		log.Warn(warningLog)
-		return
-	}
-	os.RemoveAll(path)
-	log.Info("Deleted trie clean cache", "path", path)
-}
diff --git a/eth/backend.go b/eth/backend.go
index cc555f0c23..63bd864b21 100644
--- a/eth/backend.go
+++ b/eth/backend.go
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	if err := pruner.RecoverPruning(stack.ResolvePath(""), chainDb, stack.ResolvePath(config.TrieCleanCacheJournal)); err != nil {
+	if err := pruner.RecoverPruning(stack.ResolvePath(""), chainDb); err != nil {
 		log.Error("Failed to recover state", "error", err)
 	}
 	// Transfer mining-related config to the ethash config.
@@ -184,8 +184,6 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 		}
 		cacheConfig = &core.CacheConfig{
 			TrieCleanLimit:      config.TrieCleanCache,
-			TrieCleanJournal:    stack.ResolvePath(config.TrieCleanCacheJournal),
-			TrieCleanRejournal:  config.TrieCleanCacheRejournal,
 			TrieCleanNoPrefetch: config.NoPrefetch,
 			TrieDirtyLimit:      config.TrieDirtyCache,
 			TrieDirtyDisabled:   config.NoPruning,
diff --git a/eth/ethconfig/config.go b/eth/ethconfig/config.go
index b3f7932d7f..dc798ec196 100644
--- a/eth/ethconfig/config.go
+++ b/eth/ethconfig/config.go
@@ -57,25 +57,23 @@ var LightClientGPO = gasprice.Config{
 
 // Defaults contains default settings for use on the Ethereum main net.
 var Defaults = Config{
-	SyncMode:                downloader.SnapSync,
-	NetworkId:               1,
-	TxLookupLimit:           2350000,
-	LightPeers:              100,
-	UltraLightFraction:      75,
-	DatabaseCache:           512,
-	TrieCleanCache:          154,
-	TrieCleanCacheJournal:   "triecache",
-	TrieCleanCacheRejournal: 60 * time.Minute,
-	TrieDirtyCache:          256,
-	TrieTimeout:             60 * time.Minute,
-	SnapshotCache:           102,
-	FilterLogCacheSize:      32,
-	Miner:                   miner.DefaultConfig,
-	TxPool:                  legacypool.DefaultConfig,
-	RPCGasCap:               50000000,
-	RPCEVMTimeout:           5 * time.Second,
-	GPO:                     FullNodeGPO,
-	RPCTxFeeCap:             1, // 1 ether
+	SyncMode:           downloader.SnapSync,
+	NetworkId:          1,
+	TxLookupLimit:      2350000,
+	LightPeers:         100,
+	UltraLightFraction: 75,
+	DatabaseCache:      512,
+	TrieCleanCache:     154,
+	TrieDirtyCache:     256,
+	TrieTimeout:        60 * time.Minute,
+	SnapshotCache:      102,
+	FilterLogCacheSize: 32,
+	Miner:              miner.DefaultConfig,
+	TxPool:             legacypool.DefaultConfig,
+	RPCGasCap:          50000000,
+	RPCEVMTimeout:      5 * time.Second,
+	GPO:                FullNodeGPO,
+	RPCTxFeeCap:        1, // 1 ether
 }
 
 //go:generate go run github.com/fjl/gencodec -type Config -formats toml -out gen_config.go
@@ -124,13 +122,11 @@ type Config struct {
 	DatabaseCache      int
 	DatabaseFreezer    string
 
-	TrieCleanCache          int
-	TrieCleanCacheJournal   string        `toml:",omitempty"` // Disk journal directory for trie cache to survive node restarts
-	TrieCleanCacheRejournal time.Duration `toml:",omitempty"` // Time interval to regenerate the journal for clean cache
-	TrieDirtyCache          int
-	TrieTimeout             time.Duration
-	SnapshotCache           int
-	Preimages               bool
+	TrieCleanCache int
+	TrieDirtyCache int
+	TrieTimeout    time.Duration
+	SnapshotCache  int
+	Preimages      bool
 
 	// This is the number of blocks for which logs will be cached in the filter system.
 	FilterLogCacheSize int
diff --git a/eth/ethconfig/gen_config.go b/eth/ethconfig/gen_config.go
index b41c445fe6..8f48467236 100644
--- a/eth/ethconfig/gen_config.go
+++ b/eth/ethconfig/gen_config.go
@@ -39,8 +39,6 @@ func (c Config) MarshalTOML() (interface{}, error) {
 		DatabaseCache           int
 		DatabaseFreezer         string
 		TrieCleanCache          int
-		TrieCleanCacheJournal   string        `toml:",omitempty"`
-		TrieCleanCacheRejournal time.Duration `toml:",omitempty"`
 		TrieDirtyCache          int
 		TrieTimeout             time.Duration
 		SnapshotCache           int
@@ -81,8 +79,6 @@ func (c Config) MarshalTOML() (interface{}, error) {
 	enc.DatabaseCache = c.DatabaseCache
 	enc.DatabaseFreezer = c.DatabaseFreezer
 	enc.TrieCleanCache = c.TrieCleanCache
-	enc.TrieCleanCacheJournal = c.TrieCleanCacheJournal
-	enc.TrieCleanCacheRejournal = c.TrieCleanCacheRejournal
 	enc.TrieDirtyCache = c.TrieDirtyCache
 	enc.TrieTimeout = c.TrieTimeout
 	enc.SnapshotCache = c.SnapshotCache
@@ -127,8 +123,6 @@ func (c *Config) UnmarshalTOML(unmarshal func(interface{}) error) error {
 		DatabaseCache           *int
 		DatabaseFreezer         *string
 		TrieCleanCache          *int
-		TrieCleanCacheJournal   *string        `toml:",omitempty"`
-		TrieCleanCacheRejournal *time.Duration `toml:",omitempty"`
 		TrieDirtyCache          *int
 		TrieTimeout             *time.Duration
 		SnapshotCache           *int
@@ -218,12 +212,6 @@ func (c *Config) UnmarshalTOML(unmarshal func(interface{}) error) error {
 	if dec.TrieCleanCache != nil {
 		c.TrieCleanCache = *dec.TrieCleanCache
 	}
-	if dec.TrieCleanCacheJournal != nil {
-		c.TrieCleanCacheJournal = *dec.TrieCleanCacheJournal
-	}
-	if dec.TrieCleanCacheRejournal != nil {
-		c.TrieCleanCacheRejournal = *dec.TrieCleanCacheRejournal
-	}
 	if dec.TrieDirtyCache != nil {
 		c.TrieDirtyCache = *dec.TrieDirtyCache
 	}
diff --git a/graphql/graphql_test.go b/graphql/graphql_test.go
index 88a767e334..22d7181b0d 100644
--- a/graphql/graphql_test.go
+++ b/graphql/graphql_test.go
@@ -438,14 +438,12 @@ func createNode(t *testing.T) *node.Node {
 
 func newGQLService(t *testing.T, stack *node.Node, shanghai bool, gspec *core.Genesis, genBlocks int, genfunc func(i int, gen *core.BlockGen)) (*handler, []*types.Block) {
 	ethConf := &ethconfig.Config{
-		Genesis:                 gspec,
-		NetworkId:               1337,
-		TrieCleanCache:          5,
-		TrieCleanCacheJournal:   "triecache",
-		TrieCleanCacheRejournal: 60 * time.Minute,
-		TrieDirtyCache:          5,
-		TrieTimeout:             60 * time.Minute,
-		SnapshotCache:           5,
+		Genesis:        gspec,
+		NetworkId:      1337,
+		TrieCleanCache: 5,
+		TrieDirtyCache: 5,
+		TrieTimeout:    60 * time.Minute,
+		SnapshotCache:  5,
 	}
 	ethBackend, err := eth.New(stack, ethConf)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/tests/fuzzers/snap/fuzz_handler.go b/tests/fuzzers/snap/fuzz_handler.go
index 2e5dcd6e29..784b526dc0 100644
--- a/tests/fuzzers/snap/fuzz_handler.go
+++ b/tests/fuzzers/snap/fuzz_handler.go
@@ -71,7 +71,6 @@ func getChain() *core.BlockChain {
 		TrieDirtyLimit:      0,
 		TrieTimeLimit:       5 * time.Minute,
 		TrieCleanNoPrefetch: true,
-		TrieCleanRejournal:  0,
 		SnapshotLimit:       100,
 		SnapshotWait:        true,
 	}
diff --git a/trie/database_wrap.go b/trie/database.go
similarity index 82%
rename from trie/database_wrap.go
rename to trie/database.go
index 5ca013b38e..faaa1550e0 100644
--- a/trie/database_wrap.go
+++ b/trie/database.go
@@ -18,22 +18,18 @@ package trie
 
 import (
 	"errors"
-	"runtime"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/VictoriaMetrics/fastcache"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethdb"
-	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/log"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/trie/triedb/hashdb"
 	"github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/trie/trienode"
 )
 
 // Config defines all necessary options for database.
 type Config struct {
-	Cache     int    // Memory allowance (MB) to use for caching trie nodes in memory
-	Journal   string // Journal of clean cache to survive node restarts
-	Preimages bool   // Flag whether the preimage of trie key is recorded
+	Cache     int  // Memory allowance (MB) to use for caching trie nodes in memory
+	Preimages bool // Flag whether the preimage of trie key is recorded
 }
 
 // backend defines the methods needed to access/update trie nodes in different
@@ -79,11 +75,7 @@ type Database struct {
 func prepare(diskdb ethdb.Database, config *Config) *Database {
 	var cleans *fastcache.Cache
 	if config != nil && config.Cache > 0 {
-		if config.Journal == "" {
-			cleans = fastcache.New(config.Cache * 1024 * 1024)
-		} else {
-			cleans = fastcache.LoadFromFileOrNew(config.Journal, config.Cache*1024*1024)
-		}
+		cleans = fastcache.New(config.Cache * 1024 * 1024)
 	}
 	var preimages *preimageStore
 	if config != nil && config.Preimages {
@@ -179,46 +171,6 @@ func (db *Database) WritePreimages() {
 	}
 }
 
-// saveCache saves clean state cache to given directory path
-// using specified CPU cores.
-func (db *Database) saveCache(dir string, threads int) error {
-	if db.cleans == nil {
-		return nil
-	}
-	log.Info("Writing clean trie cache to disk", "path", dir, "threads", threads)
-
-	start := time.Now()
-	err := db.cleans.SaveToFileConcurrent(dir, threads)
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Error("Failed to persist clean trie cache", "error", err)
-		return err
-	}
-	log.Info("Persisted the clean trie cache", "path", dir, "elapsed", common.PrettyDuration(time.Since(start)))
-	return nil
-}
-
-// SaveCache atomically saves fast cache data to the given dir using all
-// available CPU cores.
-func (db *Database) SaveCache(dir string) error {
-	return db.saveCache(dir, runtime.GOMAXPROCS(0))
-}
-
-// SaveCachePeriodically atomically saves fast cache data to the given dir with
-// the specified interval. All dump operation will only use a single CPU core.
-func (db *Database) SaveCachePeriodically(dir string, interval time.Duration, stopCh <-chan struct{}) {
-	ticker := time.NewTicker(interval)
-	defer ticker.Stop()
-
-	for {
-		select {
-		case <-ticker.C:
-			db.saveCache(dir, 1)
-		case <-stopCh:
-			return
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // Cap iteratively flushes old but still referenced trie nodes until the total
 // memory usage goes below the given threshold. The held pre-images accumulated
 // up to this point will be flushed in case the size exceeds the threshold.