diff --git a/easybuild/easyblocks/a/amber.py b/easybuild/easyblocks/a/amber.py
index cfe62385b5..a9f064d066 100644
--- a/easybuild/easyblocks/a/amber.py
+++ b/easybuild/easyblocks/a/amber.py
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 from easybuild.tools.build_log import EasyBuildError
 from easybuild.tools.modules import get_software_root
 from easybuild.tools.run import run_shell_cmd
-from easybuild.tools.filetools import remove_dir, which
+from easybuild.tools.filetools import clean_dir, which
 
 
 class EB_Amber(CMakeMake):
@@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ def configure_step(self):
             return
 
         # CMake will search a previous install directory for Amber-compiled libs. We will therefore
-        # manually remove the install directory prior to configuration.
-        remove_dir(self.installdir)
+        # manually clean the install directory prior to configuration.
+        clean_dir(self.installdir)
 
         external_libs_list = []