diff --git a/src/manipulation.js b/src/manipulation.js
index f0f65ecff..55fe52457 100644
--- a/src/manipulation.js
+++ b/src/manipulation.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 function createSafeFragment( document ) {
 	var list = nodeNames.split( "|" ),
-	safeFrag = document.createDocumentFragment();
+		safeFrag = document.createDocumentFragment();
 
 	if ( safeFrag.createElement ) {
 		while ( list.length ) {
@@ -49,9 +49,9 @@ wrapMap.th = wrapMap.td;
 // IE6-8 can't serialize link, script, style, or any html5 (NoScope) tags,
 // unless wrapped in a div with non-breaking characters in front of it.
 if ( !jQuery.support.htmlSerialize ) {
-	wrapMap._default = [ 1, "X<div>", "</div>" ];
+	wrapMap._default = [ 1, "X<div>", "" ];
 	// Fixes #11280
-	wrapMap.param = [ 1, "X<object>", "</object>" ];
+	wrapMap.param = [ 1, "X<object>", "" ];
 	// Fixes #11280. HTMLParam name attribute added to avoid IE6-8 parsing issue.
 	addMandatoryAttributes = function( elem ) {
 		// If it's a param
@@ -650,7 +650,7 @@ jQuery.extend({
 	},
 
 	clean: function( elems, context, fragment, scripts ) {
-		var i, j, elem, tag, wrap, depth, div, hasBody, tbody, handleScript, jsTags,
+		var i, j, elem, tag, wrap, depth, parent, div, hasBody, tbody, handleScript, jsTags,
 			safe = context === document && safeFragment,
 			ret = [];
 
@@ -676,8 +676,7 @@ jQuery.extend({
 				} else {
 					// Ensure a safe container in which to render the html
 					safe = safe || createSafeFragment( context );
-					div = context.createElement("div");
-					safe.appendChild( div );
+					div = div || safe.appendChild( context.createElement("div") );
 
 					// Fix "XHTML"-style tags in all browsers
 					elem = elem.replace(rxhtmlTag, "<$1></$2>");
@@ -719,9 +718,10 @@ jQuery.extend({
 					}
 
 					elem = div.childNodes;
+					parent = div;
 
-					// Take out of fragment container (we need a fresh div each time)
-					div.parentNode.removeChild( div );
+					// Remember the top-level container for proper cleanup
+					div = safe.lastChild;
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -729,14 +729,31 @@ jQuery.extend({
 				ret.push( elem );
 			} else {
 				jQuery.merge( ret, elem );
+
+				// Fix #12392
+				if ( parent ) {
+
+					// for WebKit and IE > 9
+					parent.textContent = "";
+
+					// for oldIE
+					while ( parent.firstChild ) {
+						parent.removeChild( parent.firstChild );
+					}
+
+					parent = null;
+				}
 			}
 		}
 
 		// Fix #11356: Clear elements from safeFragment
 		if ( div ) {
-			elem = div = safe = null;
+			safe.removeChild( div );
 		}
 
+		elem = div = safe = null;
+
+
 		// Reset defaultChecked for any radios and checkboxes
 		// about to be appended to the DOM in IE 6/7 (#8060)
 		if ( !jQuery.support.appendChecked ) {
diff --git a/test/unit/manipulation.js b/test/unit/manipulation.js
index 7b5fee197..06e8b3050 100644
--- a/test/unit/manipulation.js
+++ b/test/unit/manipulation.js
@@ -473,11 +473,11 @@ test("append(param) to object, see #11280", function() {
 	expect(11);
 
 	var objectElement = document.createElement("object"),
-	    $objectElement = jQuery( objectElement ),
-	    paramElement = jQuery("<param type='wmode' value='transparent'/>"),
-	    paramElement2 = jQuery("<param name='' type='wmode2' value='transparent2' />"),
-	    paramElement3 = jQuery("<param type='wmode' name='foo' >"),
-	    newObject = jQuery("<object><param type='foo' ><param name='' value='foo2'/><param type='baz' name='bar'></object>");
+		$objectElement = jQuery( objectElement ),
+		paramElement = jQuery("<param type='wmode' value='transparent'/>"),
+		paramElement2 = jQuery("<param name='' type='wmode2' value='transparent2' />"),
+		paramElement3 = jQuery("<param type='wmode' name='foo' >"),
+		newObject = jQuery("<object><param type='foo' ><param name='' value='foo2'/><param type='baz' name='bar'></object>");
 
 	equal( objectElement.childNodes.length, 0, "object did not have childNodes previously" );
 
@@ -613,6 +613,23 @@ test("append HTML5 sectioning elements (Bug #6485)", function () {
 	equal( aside.length, 1, "HTML5 elements do not collapse their children");
 });
 
+test( "jQuery.clean, #12392", function() {
+	expect( 6 );
+
+	var elems = jQuery.clean([ "<div>test div</div>", "<p>test p</p>" ]);
+
+	ok( elems[ 0 ].parentNode == null || elems[ 0 ].parentNode.nodeType === 11, "parentNode should be documentFragment or null" );
+	ok( elems[ 1 ].parentNode == null || elems[ 1 ].parentNode.nodeType === 11, "parentNode should be documentFragment or null" );
+
+	equal( elems[ 0 ].innerHTML, "test div", "Content should be preserved" );
+	equal( elems[ 1 ].innerHTML, "test p", "Content should be preserved" );
+
+	equal( jQuery.clean([ "<span><span>" ]).length, 1, "Incorrect html-strings should not break anything" );
+
+	elems = jQuery.clean([ "<td><td>" ]);
+	ok( elems[ 1 ].parentNode == null || elems[ 1 ].parentNode.nodeType === 11, "parentNode should be documentFragment or null" );
+});
+
 if ( jQuery.css ) {
 	test("HTML5 Elements inherit styles from style rules (Bug #10501)", function () {
 		expect(1);