diff --git a/.env.sample b/.env.sample
index 323ed7b255fd448c2b73baf64c7746f2a33c1450..58db1d05cce0c0f879b9c41fbbda914e7c3877ec 100644
--- a/.env.sample
+++ b/.env.sample
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ BK_KEEP_FULL="2"  # How many full+inc cycle to keep
 
 pre_actions(){
     if [ ! -z "$(which mysql)" ]; then
-        mysqldump --events --single-transaction --flush-logs --all-databases \
+        mysqldump --events --single-transaction --flush-logs --all-databases  --default-character-set=utf8 \
             | gzip > /root/db.sql.gz
         exit_on_fail $? "Backup mysql databses"
     fi