diff --git a/sway/stringop.c b/sway/stringop.c
index 00cc32b8e..624c8401f 100644
--- a/sway/stringop.c
+++ b/sway/stringop.c
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ void strip_comments(char *str) {
 		} else if (str[i] == '\'' && !in_string) {
 			in_character = !in_character;
 		} else if (!in_character && !in_string) {
-			if (str[i] == '#') {
+			if (str[i] == '#' && i == 0) {
 				str[i] = '\0';
 				break;
 			}