diff --git a/lib/processors/pdf_processor.py b/lib/processors/pdf_processor.py
index 2c9224e..5d7a57f 100644
--- a/lib/processors/pdf_processor.py
+++ b/lib/processors/pdf_processor.py
@@ -372,8 +372,18 @@ def pre_flight(content_path, meta_path, db, config):
     )
     proc_dir = os.path.join(processing_root, file_hash)
     concepts_dir = os.path.join(config['paths']['concepts'], file_hash)
-    shutil.rmtree(proc_dir, ignore_errors=True)
-    shutil.rmtree(concepts_dir, ignore_errors=True)
+    if os.path.exists(proc_dir):
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(proc_dir)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Stale cleanup failed for %s: %s", proc_dir, e)
+            raise
+    if os.path.exists(concepts_dir):
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(concepts_dir)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Stale cleanup failed for %s: %s", concepts_dir, e)
+            raise
 
     # ── Step 3: Hash dedupe ───────────────────────────────────────
     conn = db._get_conn()
diff --git a/lib/processors/transcript_processor.py b/lib/processors/transcript_processor.py
index 21860cf..c5d8023 100644
--- a/lib/processors/transcript_processor.py
+++ b/lib/processors/transcript_processor.py
@@ -57,8 +57,18 @@ def pre_flight(content_path, meta_path, db, config):
     )
     proc_dir = os.path.join(processing_root, file_hash)
     concepts_dir = os.path.join(config['paths']['concepts'], file_hash)
-    shutil.rmtree(proc_dir, ignore_errors=True)
-    shutil.rmtree(concepts_dir, ignore_errors=True)
+    if os.path.exists(proc_dir):
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(proc_dir)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Stale cleanup failed for %s: %s", proc_dir, e)
+            raise
+    if os.path.exists(concepts_dir):
+        try:
+            shutil.rmtree(concepts_dir)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error("Stale cleanup failed for %s: %s", concepts_dir, e)
+            raise
 
     # Hash dedupe: if hash exists in catalogue, delete the pair and return
     conn = db._get_conn()