diff --git a/src/mqtt_interface.rs b/src/mqtt_interface.rs
index 036dca1..aa41672 100644
--- a/src/mqtt_interface.rs
+++ b/src/mqtt_interface.rs
@@ -73,7 +73,16 @@ async fn event_loop_task(
                 match incoming {
                     rumqttc::Packet::ConnAck(_) => {
                         info!("MQTT connected");
-                        interface.publish_connected(true).await?;
+                        {
+                            // HACK: this really should just be await
+                            // but that can sometimes deadlock if the publish channel is full
+                            let mut interface = interface.clone();
+                            let fut = async move {
+                                interface.publish_connected(true).await
+                            };
+                            tokio::spawn(fut);
+                        }
+                        //.await?;
                     }
                     _ => {}
                 }