diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 097d939..55228e9 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ Call `config` to set the default configuration options for angular-notify.  The
 * `position` - The default position of each message.  `center`, `left` and `right` are the supported values.
 * `container` - The default element that contains each notification.  Defaults to `document.body`.
 * `maximumOpen` - The maximum number of total notifications that can be visible at one time.  Older notifications will be closed when the maximum is reached.
+* `cleanupTimeout` - A timeout that cleans up the DOM after the message has faded out. This does not normally need to be set, but if you change the opacity transition duration
+in `.cg-notify-message` you may want to adjust this so that the message isn't suddenly
+removed before the fade-out transition is completed.
 
 ### notify.closeAll()
 
diff --git a/angular-notify.js b/angular-notify.js
index 7fbdf6e..ede245a 100755
--- a/angular-notify.js
+++ b/angular-notify.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
         var position = 'center';
         var container = document.body;
         var maximumOpen = 0;
+        var cleanupTimeout = 500;
 
         var messageElements = [];
         var openNotificationsScope = [];
@@ -77,6 +78,11 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
                 scope.$close = function(){
                     templateElement.css('opacity',0).attr('data-closing','true');
                     layoutMessages();
+                    // add a cleanup handler for the templateElement in case the transitionend event is not fired (e.g. the transition is 
+                    // interrupted by the browser).
+                    $timeout(function() {
+                        templateElement.remove();
+                    }, cleanupTimeout);
                 };
 
                 var layoutMessages = function(){
@@ -142,6 +148,7 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
             position = !angular.isUndefined(args.position) ? args.position : position;
             container = args.container ? args.container : container;
             maximumOpen = args.maximumOpen ? args.maximumOpen : maximumOpen;
+            cleanupTimeout = args.cleanupTimeout ? args.cleanupTimeout : cleanupTimeout;
         };
 
         notify.closeAll = function(){
diff --git a/dist/angular-notify.js b/dist/angular-notify.js
index b23e7bb..3d42e4a 100644
--- a/dist/angular-notify.js
+++ b/dist/angular-notify.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
         var position = 'center';
         var container = document.body;
         var maximumOpen = 0;
+        var opacityAnimationTimeout = 500;
 
         var messageElements = [];
         var openNotificationsScope = [];
@@ -77,6 +78,11 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
                 scope.$close = function(){
                     templateElement.css('opacity',0).attr('data-closing','true');
                     layoutMessages();
+                    // add a cleanup handler for the templateElement in case the transitionend event is not fired (e.g. the transition is 
+                    // interrupted by the browser).
+                    $timeout(function() {
+                        templateElement.remove();
+                    }, opacityAnimationTimeout);
                 };
 
                 var layoutMessages = function(){
@@ -142,6 +148,7 @@ angular.module('cgNotify', []).factory('notify',['$timeout','$http','$compile','
             position = !angular.isUndefined(args.position) ? args.position : position;
             container = args.container ? args.container : container;
             maximumOpen = args.maximumOpen ? args.maximumOpen : maximumOpen;
+            opacityAnimationTimeout = args.opacityAnimationTimeout ? args.opacityAnimationTimeout : opacityAnimationTimeout;
         };
 
         notify.closeAll = function(){
diff --git a/dist/angular-notify.min.js b/dist/angular-notify.min.js
index 8607d9f..d10b097 100644
--- a/dist/angular-notify.min.js
+++ b/dist/angular-notify.min.js
@@ -1 +1 @@
-angular.module("cgNotify",[]).factory("notify",["$timeout","$http","$compile","$templateCache","$rootScope",function(a,b,c,d,e){var f=10,g=15,h=1e4,i="angular-notify.html",j="center",k=document.body,l=0,m=[],n=[],o=function(o){"object"!=typeof o&&(o={message:o}),o.duration=o.duration?o.duration:h,o.templateUrl=o.templateUrl?o.templateUrl:i,o.container=o.container?o.container:k,o.classes=o.classes?o.classes:"";var p=o.scope?o.scope.$new():e.$new();if(p.$position=o.position?o.position:j,p.$message=o.message,p.$classes=o.classes,p.$messageTemplate=o.messageTemplate,l>0)for(var q=n.length+1-l,r=0;q>r;r++)n[r].$close();b.get(o.templateUrl,{cache:d}).success(function(b){var d=c(b)(p);if(d.bind("webkitTransitionEnd oTransitionEnd otransitionend transitionend msTransitionEnd",function(a){("opacity"===a.propertyName||0===a.currentTarget.style.opacity||a.originalEvent&&"opacity"===a.originalEvent.propertyName)&&(d.remove(),m.splice(m.indexOf(d),1),n.splice(n.indexOf(p),1),i())}),o.messageTemplate){for(var e,h=0;h<d.children().length;h++)if(angular.element(d.children()[h]).hasClass("cg-notify-message-template")){e=angular.element(d.children()[h]);break}if(!e)throw new Error("cgNotify could not find the .cg-notify-message-template element in "+o.templateUrl+".");e.append(c(o.messageTemplate)(p))}angular.element(o.container).append(d),m.push(d),"center"===p.$position&&a(function(){p.$centerMargin="-"+d[0].offsetWidth/2+"px"}),p.$close=function(){d.css("opacity",0).attr("data-closing","true"),i()};var i=function(){for(var a=0,b=f,c=m.length-1;c>=0;c--){var d=10,e=m[c],h=e[0].offsetHeight,i=b+h+d;e.attr("data-closing")?i+=20:b+=h+g,e.css("top",i+"px").css("margin-top","-"+(h+d)+"px").css("visibility","visible"),a++}};a(function(){i()}),o.duration>0&&a(function(){p.$close()},o.duration)}).error(function(a){throw new Error("Template specified for cgNotify ("+o.templateUrl+") could not be loaded. "+a)});var s={};return s.close=function(){p.$close&&p.$close()},Object.defineProperty(s,"message",{get:function(){return p.$message},set:function(a){p.$message=a}}),n.push(p),s};return o.config=function(a){f=angular.isUndefined(a.startTop)?f:a.startTop,g=angular.isUndefined(a.verticalSpacing)?g:a.verticalSpacing,h=angular.isUndefined(a.duration)?h:a.duration,i=a.templateUrl?a.templateUrl:i,j=angular.isUndefined(a.position)?j:a.position,k=a.container?a.container:k,l=a.maximumOpen?a.maximumOpen:l},o.closeAll=function(){for(var a=m.length-1;a>=0;a--){var b=m[a];b.css("opacity",0)}},o}]),angular.module("cgNotify").run(["$templateCache",function(a){"use strict";a.put("angular-notify.html","<div class=\"cg-notify-message\" ng-class=\"[$classes, \n    $position === 'center' ? 'cg-notify-message-center' : '',\n    $position === 'left' ? 'cg-notify-message-left' : '',\n    $position === 'right' ? 'cg-notify-message-right' : '']\"\n    ng-style=\"{'margin-left': $centerMargin}\">\n\n    <div ng-show=\"!$messageTemplate\">\n        {{$message}}\n    </div>\n\n"+'    <div ng-show="$messageTemplate" class="cg-notify-message-template">\n        \n    </div>\n\n    <button type="button" class="cg-notify-close" ng-click="$close()">\n        <span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>\n        <span class="cg-notify-sr-only">Close</span>\n    </button>\n\n</div>')}]);
\ No newline at end of file
+angular.module("cgNotify",[]).factory("notify",["$timeout","$http","$compile","$templateCache","$rootScope",function(a,b,c,d,e){var f=10,g=15,h=1e4,i="angular-notify.html",j="center",k=document.body,l=0,m=500,n=[],o=[],p=function(p){"object"!=typeof p&&(p={message:p}),p.duration=p.duration?p.duration:h,p.templateUrl=p.templateUrl?p.templateUrl:i,p.container=p.container?p.container:k,p.classes=p.classes?p.classes:"";var q=p.scope?p.scope.$new():e.$new();if(q.$position=p.position?p.position:j,q.$message=p.message,q.$classes=p.classes,q.$messageTemplate=p.messageTemplate,l>0)for(var r=o.length+1-l,s=0;r>s;s++)o[s].$close();b.get(p.templateUrl,{cache:d}).success(function(b){var d=c(b)(q);if(d.bind("webkitTransitionEnd oTransitionEnd otransitionend transitionend msTransitionEnd",function(a){("opacity"===a.propertyName||0===a.currentTarget.style.opacity||a.originalEvent&&"opacity"===a.originalEvent.propertyName)&&(d.remove(),n.splice(n.indexOf(d),1),o.splice(o.indexOf(q),1),i())}),p.messageTemplate){for(var e,h=0;h<d.children().length;h++)if(angular.element(d.children()[h]).hasClass("cg-notify-message-template")){e=angular.element(d.children()[h]);break}if(!e)throw new Error("cgNotify could not find the .cg-notify-message-template element in "+p.templateUrl+".");e.append(c(p.messageTemplate)(q))}angular.element(p.container).append(d),n.push(d),"center"===q.$position&&a(function(){q.$centerMargin="-"+d[0].offsetWidth/2+"px"}),q.$close=function(){d.css("opacity",0).attr("data-closing","true"),i(),a(function(){d.remove()},m)};var i=function(){for(var a=0,b=f,c=n.length-1;c>=0;c--){var d=10,e=n[c],h=e[0].offsetHeight,i=b+h+d;e.attr("data-closing")?i+=20:b+=h+g,e.css("top",i+"px").css("margin-top","-"+(h+d)+"px").css("visibility","visible"),a++}};a(function(){i()}),p.duration>0&&a(function(){q.$close()},p.duration)}).error(function(a){throw new Error("Template specified for cgNotify ("+p.templateUrl+") could not be loaded. "+a)});var t={};return t.close=function(){q.$close&&q.$close()},Object.defineProperty(t,"message",{get:function(){return q.$message},set:function(a){q.$message=a}}),o.push(q),t};return p.config=function(a){f=angular.isUndefined(a.startTop)?f:a.startTop,g=angular.isUndefined(a.verticalSpacing)?g:a.verticalSpacing,h=angular.isUndefined(a.duration)?h:a.duration,i=a.templateUrl?a.templateUrl:i,j=angular.isUndefined(a.position)?j:a.position,k=a.container?a.container:k,l=a.maximumOpen?a.maximumOpen:l,m=a.opacityAnimationTimeout?a.opacityAnimationTimeout:m},p.closeAll=function(){for(var a=n.length-1;a>=0;a--){var b=n[a];b.css("opacity",0)}},p}]),angular.module("cgNotify").run(["$templateCache",function(a){"use strict";a.put("angular-notify.html","<div class=\"cg-notify-message\" ng-class=\"[$classes, \n    $position === 'center' ? 'cg-notify-message-center' : '',\n    $position === 'left' ? 'cg-notify-message-left' : '',\n    $position === 'right' ? 'cg-notify-message-right' : '']\"\n    ng-style=\"{'margin-left': $centerMargin}\">\n\n    <div ng-show=\"!$messageTemplate\">\n        {{$message}}\n    </div>\n\n"+'    <div ng-show="$messageTemplate" class="cg-notify-message-template">\n        \n    </div>\n\n    <button type="button" class="cg-notify-close" ng-click="$close()">\n        <span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>\n        <span class="cg-notify-sr-only">Close</span>\n    </button>\n\n</div>')}]);
\ No newline at end of file