diff --git a/res/res_config_odbc.c b/res/res_config_odbc.c
index fd0078f22a..45bb2141d7 100644
--- a/res/res_config_odbc.c
+++ b/res/res_config_odbc.c
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ static struct ast_variable *realtime_odbc(const char *database, const char *tabl
 		} else {
 			while (stringp) {
 				chunk = strsep(&stringp, ";");
-				if (!ast_strlen_zero(ast_strip(chunk))) {
+				if (!strcmp(chunk, " ") || !ast_strlen_zero(ast_strip(chunk))) {
 					if (strchr(chunk, '^')) {
 						decode_chunk(chunk);
 					}