diff --git a/api/Stream.cpp b/api/Stream.cpp
index f6f9bda6..577c5845 100644
--- a/api/Stream.cpp
+++ b/api/Stream.cpp
@@ -86,6 +86,11 @@ int Stream::peekNextDigit(LookaheadMode lookahead, bool detectDecimal)
 // Public Methods
 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
+void Stream::clear() {
+  while (available())
+    read();
+}
+
 void Stream::setTimeout(unsigned long timeout)  // sets the maximum number of milliseconds to wait
 {
   _timeout = timeout;
diff --git a/api/Stream.h b/api/Stream.h
index e81c71ba..fb28ea95 100644
--- a/api/Stream.h
+++ b/api/Stream.h
@@ -61,6 +61,8 @@ class Stream : public Print
     virtual int read() = 0;
     virtual int peek() = 0;
 
+    virtual void clear(); // clears the receive buffer
+
     Stream() {_timeout=1000;}
 
 // parsing methods
@@ -130,4 +132,4 @@ class Stream : public Print
 
 }
 
-using arduino::Stream;
\ No newline at end of file
+using arduino::Stream;