diff --git a/.github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml b/.github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml
index a975bc834..2ce0385da 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml
@@ -8,10 +8,8 @@
 name: Sweep test databases
 
 on:
-  workflow_run:
-    workflows: [Test]
-    branches: [master]
-    types: [completed]
+  schedule:
+    - cron:  '0 3 * * *'
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       dry-run:
@@ -28,15 +26,10 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   sweep:
-    # A separate completion workflow also runs after failed or cancelled tests.
-    if: >-
-      github.repository == 'pyathena-dev/PyAthena' &&
-      ((github.event_name == 'workflow_run' &&
-        github.event.workflow_run.event == 'schedule' &&
-        github.event.workflow_run.head_repository.full_name == github.repository) ||
-       (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'))
+    # Scheduled runs use the default branch; manual dispatch must choose it.
+    if: github.repository == 'pyathena-dev/PyAthena' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/master'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 15
+    timeout-minutes: 60
     permissions:
       contents: read
       id-token: write
@@ -49,11 +42,8 @@ jobs:
       DRY_RUN: ${{ github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.dry-run && 'true' || 'false' }}
 
     steps:
-      # Never execute code or consume artifacts from the triggering test run.
-      - name: Checkout default branch
-        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+      - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
-          ref: master
           persist-credentials: false
 
       - uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@37802adc94f370d6bfd71619e3f0bf239e1f3b78 # v7.6.0
diff --git a/docs/testing.md b/docs/testing.md
index bf58fb77e..803ef28e0 100644
--- a/docs/testing.md
+++ b/docs/testing.md
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ AWS_ATHENA_S3_TABLES_CATALOG=s3tablescatalog/your-table-bucket
 
 Each test process creates its own namespace in the table bucket, named like its schema, and deletes it with any remaining tables at the end; with pytest-xdist that is each worker, not the controller.
 The test identity needs `s3tables:CreateNamespace`, `s3tables:DeleteNamespace`, `s3tables:ListTables`, and `s3tables:DeleteTable` on the table bucket.
-A session that stops early leaves its namespace behind; `scripts/sweep_databases.py` removes such namespaces once they are more than seven days old.
+A session that stops early leaves its namespace behind; `scripts/sweep_databases.py` removes such namespaces once they are more than one day old.
+It also removes the database and namespace of a session still running after one day, if they are in the account, region, and table bucket that the sweep covers.
 
 The S3 Tables tests live in `tests/pyathena/sqlalchemy/test_base.py` and `tests/pyathena/test_glue.py` and run under `just test pyathena`, not the SQLAlchemy compliance-suite commands.
 Managed storage and S3 Tables tests skip when their respective optional configuration is absent.
diff --git a/scripts/sweep_databases.py b/scripts/sweep_databases.py
index c21821bb0..664076fc4 100644
--- a/scripts/sweep_databases.py
+++ b/scripts/sweep_databases.py
@@ -13,15 +13,18 @@
 # AWS_PROFILE and AWS_DEFAULT_REGION can select the account and region.
 #
 # Eligible databases must exactly match a PyAthena or SQLAlchemy fixture name
-# and have a creation time more than seven days old. Resource links and federated
-# databases are excluded. The script completes inventory before deleting and
-# rechecks eligibility and creation time immediately before each deletion.
-# Only missing-database errors are ignored; other API failures stop the sweep.
+# and have a creation time more than one day old, longer than a CI test session
+# can run (a GitHub-hosted job stops after six hours). A local session against
+# the same account that stays open longer can lose its database. Resource
+# links and federated databases are excluded. The script completes inventory
+# before deleting and rechecks eligibility and creation time immediately
+# before each deletion. Only missing-database errors are ignored; other API
+# failures stop the sweep.
 # Deletion removes Glue database and table metadata, not S3 objects.
 #
 # With AWS_ATHENA_S3_TABLES_CATALOG set (s3tablescatalog/<table-bucket>), the
 # script also sweeps that table bucket's namespaces named like PyAthena test
-# schemas and more than seven days old, deleting their tables first. Test
+# schemas and more than one day old, deleting their tables first. Test
 # sessions create and delete such a namespace; a session that stops early
 # leaves it behind. The namespace ID is rechecked before its tables are deleted
 # and again before the namespace is deleted. Each table is deleted only if it
@@ -29,11 +32,11 @@
 # skipped. DeleteNamespace takes only a name, so an empty namespace recreated
 # under the same name right after the last recheck would still be deleted.
 #
-# .github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml runs this script after scheduled Test
-# runs complete on master, including failures and cancellations. It does not run
-# after PR tests or manually dispatched tests. Manual sweep dispatch on master
-# defaults to preview. The job has a 15-minute timeout; a timeout or API failure
-# can leave eligible databases for a later run.
+# .github/workflows/database-sweep.yaml runs this script daily on master, so
+# while those runs succeed, a cancelled test run's leftovers are removed within
+# about two days. Manual sweep dispatch on master defaults to preview. The job
+# has a 60-minute timeout; a timeout or API failure can leave eligible databases
+# for a later run.
 
 import argparse
 import contextlib
@@ -54,6 +57,8 @@
     rf"(?:{_PYATHENA_TEST_SCHEMA}|test_[0-9a-f]{{12}}(?:_test_schema(?:_2)?)?)"
 )
 _TEST_NAMESPACE = re.compile(_PYATHENA_TEST_SCHEMA)
+# Longer than a CI test session can run; see the module comment.
+_RETENTION = timedelta(days=1)
 
 
 def _eligible(database: dict[str, Any], cutoff: datetime) -> bool:
@@ -69,13 +74,21 @@ def _eligible(database: dict[str, Any], cutoff: datetime) -> bool:
 
 
 def sweep_databases(client: Any, catalog_id: str, *, dry_run: bool = True) -> dict[str, int]:
-    """Preview or delete test databases older than seven days.
+    """Preview or delete test databases older than one day.
 
     Fixtures generate fresh database names for each session or worker.
-    Databases younger than seven days are retained, including concurrent CI runs.
+    Databases younger than one day are retained, including concurrent CI runs.
     Only Glue metadata is deleted; S3 objects and child catalogs are untouched.
+
+    Args:
+        client: A boto3 Glue client.
+        catalog_id: The ID of the Data Catalog to sweep.
+        dry_run: Only count eligible databases.
+
+    Returns:
+        The numbers of eligible, deleted and skipped databases.
     """
-    cutoff = datetime.now(UTC) - timedelta(days=7)
+    cutoff = datetime.now(UTC) - _RETENTION
     # Finish pagination before deleting anything from the catalog.
     candidates = [
         database
@@ -127,11 +140,11 @@ def _eligible_namespace(namespace: dict[str, Any], cutoff: datetime) -> bool:
 def sweep_s3tables_namespaces(
     client: Any, table_bucket_arn: str, *, dry_run: bool = True
 ) -> dict[str, int]:
-    """Preview or delete test S3 Tables namespaces older than seven days.
+    """Preview or delete test S3 Tables namespaces older than one day.
 
     Test sessions create a namespace named like their schema and delete it when
     they finish; this removes the ones a session left behind. Namespaces younger
-    than seven days are retained, including those of running sessions.
+    than one day are retained, including those of running sessions.
 
     Args:
         client: A boto3 S3 Tables client.
@@ -141,7 +154,7 @@ def sweep_s3tables_namespaces(
     Returns:
         The numbers of eligible, deleted and skipped namespaces.
     """
-    cutoff = datetime.now(UTC) - timedelta(days=7)
+    cutoff = datetime.now(UTC) - _RETENTION
     # Finish pagination before deleting anything from the table bucket.
     candidates = [
         namespace
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_sweep_databases.py b/scripts/tests/test_sweep_databases.py
index 29f9d611d..d46a8c638 100644
--- a/scripts/tests/test_sweep_databases.py
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_sweep_databases.py
@@ -105,6 +105,14 @@ def test_preview_and_apply_finish_pagination_before_mutating(glue):
         }
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(("age", "eligible"), [(timedelta(days=2), 1), (timedelta(hours=12), 0)])
+def test_databases_expire_after_one_day(glue, age, eligible):
+    client, stubber = glue
+    database = {**DATABASE, "CreateTime": datetime.now(UTC) - age}
+    stubber.add_response("get_databases", {"DatabaseList": [database]}, {"CatalogId": CATALOG})
+    assert sweep_databases(client, CATALOG)["eligible"] == eligible
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "current",
     [
@@ -255,6 +263,18 @@ def test_only_expired_session_namespaces_are_eligible(properties, expected):
     assert _eligible_namespace({**NAMESPACE, **properties}, OLD + timedelta(days=1)) is expected
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(("age", "eligible"), [(timedelta(days=2), 1), (timedelta(hours=12), 0)])
+def test_namespaces_expire_after_one_day(s3tables, age, eligible):
+    client, stubber = s3tables
+    namespace = {**NAMESPACE, "createdAt": datetime.now(UTC) - age}
+    stubber.add_response(
+        "list_namespaces",
+        {"namespaces": [namespace]},
+        {"tableBucketARN": BUCKET_ARN, "prefix": "pyathena_test_"},
+    )
+    assert sweep_s3tables_namespaces(client, BUCKET_ARN)["eligible"] == eligible
+
+
 def test_namespace_sweep_deletes_tables_then_namespace(s3tables):
     client, stubber = s3tables
     listing = {"tableBucketARN": BUCKET_ARN, "prefix": "pyathena_test_"}