diff --git a/.github/workflows/alpha-e2e-scale-trigger.yaml b/.github/workflows/alpha-e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
index f25dc7ca29cb..699d81427217 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/alpha-e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/alpha-e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ jobs:
       region: ${{ inputs.region || 'us-west-2' }}
       enable_metrics: ${{ inputs.enable_metrics || true }}
       workflow_trigger: "alpha-scale"
-      cleanup: ${{ inputs.cleanup || true }}
+      # Default to true unless using a workflow_dispatch
+      cleanup: ${{ github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch' && true || inputs.cleanup }}
     secrets:
       SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-cleanup.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e-cleanup.yaml
index ca753b1e20d2..7f16e6c548e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-cleanup.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-cleanup.yaml
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ jobs:
     name: cleanup-${{ inputs.cluster_name }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.git_ref }}
       - name: cleanup karpenter and cluster '${{ inputs.cluster_name }}' resources
         uses: ./.github/actions/e2e/cleanup
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-conformance-trigger.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e-conformance-trigger.yaml
index 251ee0476fbb..4f2e8e0063df 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-conformance-trigger.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-conformance-trigger.yaml
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       region: ${{ inputs.region || 'eu-west-1' }}
       k8s_version: ${{ matrix.k8s_version }}
       workflow_trigger: "conformance"
-      cleanup: ${{ inputs.cleanup || true }}
+      # Default to true unless using a workflow_dispatch
+      cleanup: ${{ github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch' && true || inputs.cleanup }}
     secrets:
       SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
index 48360660ca40..86cb283ad393 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ jobs:
       git_ref: ${{ needs.resolve.outputs.GIT_REF }}
       region: ${{ inputs.region || 'us-east-2' }}
       workflow_trigger: "matrix"
-      cleanup: ${{ inputs.cleanup || true }}
+      # Default to true unless using a workflow_dispatch
+      cleanup: ${{ github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch' && true || inputs.cleanup }}
     secrets:
       SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-scale-trigger.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
index d69240e07b63..a711cf5ec9a4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-scale-trigger.yaml
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ jobs:
       region: ${{ inputs.region || 'us-west-2' }}
       enable_metrics: ${{ inputs.enable_metrics || true }}
       workflow_trigger: "scale"
-      cleanup: ${{ inputs.cleanup || true }}
+      # Default to true unless using a workflow_dispatch
+      cleanup: ${{ github.event_name != 'workflow_dispatch' && true || inputs.cleanup }}
     secrets:
       SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}