diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index efdd8d9..686d245 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -132,6 +132,15 @@ jobs:
             | awk '{print $1}')"
           echo "job network: ${net:?could not determine the job container network}"
           docker rm -f postgres >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+          # Also drop any `postgres-<suffix>` container. A since-reverted
+          # attempt at per-run Postgres naming on this branch left some
+          # running on this persistent runner (their `if: always()` teardown
+          # never fired — this runner skips trailing steps after a failure),
+          # and nothing else removes them. A second idle Postgres here starves
+          # the runner's RAM and slows every query ~5x → `resetDatabase()`
+          # blows Mocha's 10s hook timeout. Nothing creates `postgres-*` any
+          # more, so this only ever clears that debris.
+          docker ps -aq --filter 'name=^postgres-' | xargs -r docker rm -f >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
           docker run -d --name postgres --network "$net" \
             -e POSTGRES_USER=ci -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=ci -e POSTGRES_DB=batchcooking_ci \
             postgres:16-alpine