diff --git a/Lib/dumbdbm.py b/Lib/dumbdbm.py
index 0fd2dad..920a464 100644
--- a/Lib/dumbdbm.py
+++ b/Lib/dumbdbm.py
@@ -143,9 +143,15 @@
         return len(self._index)
 
     def close(self):
+        self._commit()
         self._index = None
         self._datfile = self._dirfile = self._bakfile = None
 
+    def __del__(self):
+        if self._index is not None:
+            self._commit()
+  
+
 
 def open(file, flag=None, mode=0666):
     # flag, mode arguments are currently ignored