diff --git a/docs/reset.md b/docs/reset.md
index f6d1c52a81c2..984c16d143ed 100644
--- a/docs/reset.md
+++ b/docs/reset.md
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ following:
 * Processes and containers: Terminates all running k0s processes to ensure that
   there are no active components left. This includes all container processes
   managed by the Container Runtime.
+* Mounts under k0s data directory: In order to prevent persistent data to be
+  deleted, all mount points under k0s' data directory will be unmounted. If an
+  unmount fails, it will be unmounted lazy.
 * Data stored on the node: Deletes the whole k0s data directory, which includes
   * all k0s-related configuration files, including those used for cluster setup
     and node-specific settings,
@@ -23,8 +26,8 @@ following:
   reboot the host after a reset to ensure that there are no k0s remnants in the
   host's network configuration. Custom CNI plugins are not cleaned up.
 * Registration with the host's init system: Reverts the registration done by
-  `k0s install`. After a reset, k0s won't be automatically started when the host
-  boots.
+  `k0s install`. After a reset, k0s won't be automatically started when the
+  host boots.
 
 After a successful reset, the k0s binary itself remains. It can then be used to
 join another cluster or create a new one.
diff --git a/inttest/reset/clutter-data-dir.sh b/inttest/reset/clutter-data-dir.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c7c8f1e14d4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inttest/reset/clutter-data-dir.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2024 k0s authors
+#shellcheck shell=ash
+
+set -eu
+
+make_dir() { mkdir -- "$1" && echo "$1"; }
+make_file() { echo "$1" >"$1" && echo "$1"; }
+
+make_bind_mounts() {
+  local real="$1"
+  local target="$2"
+
+  # Directory bind mount
+  make_dir "$real/real_dir"
+  make_file "$real/real_dir/real_dir_info.txt"
+  make_dir "$target/bind_dir"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/real_dir" "$target/bind_dir"
+
+  # File bind mount
+  make_file "$real/real_file.txt"
+  make_file "$target/bind_file.txt"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/real_file.txt" "$target/bind_file.txt"
+
+  # Recursive directory bind mount
+  make_dir "$real/real_recursive_dir"
+  make_file "$real/real_recursive_dir/real_recursive_dir.txt"
+  make_dir "$real/real_recursive_dir/bind_dir"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/real_dir" "$real/real_recursive_dir/bind_dir"
+  make_file "$real/real_recursive_dir/bind_file.txt"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/real_file.txt" "$real/real_recursive_dir/bind_file.txt"
+  make_dir "$target/rbind_dir"
+  mount --rbind -- "$real/real_recursive_dir" "$target/rbind_dir"
+
+  # Directory overmounts
+  make_dir "$real/overmount_dir"
+  make_file "$real/overmount_dir/in_overmount_dir.txt"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/overmount_dir" "$target/bind_dir"
+
+  # File overmounts
+  make_file "$real/overmount_file.txt"
+  mount --bind -- "$real/overmount_file.txt" "$target/bind_file.txt"
+}
+
+clutter() {
+  local dataDir="$1"
+  local realDir
+
+  realDir="$(mktemp -t -d k0s_reset_inttest.XXXXXX)"
+
+  local dir="$dataDir"/cluttered
+  make_dir "$dir"
+
+  # Directories and files with restricted permissions
+  make_dir "$dir/restricted_dir"
+  make_file "$dir/restricted_dir/no_read_file.txt"
+  chmod 000 -- "$dir/restricted_dir/no_read_file.txt" # No permissions on the file
+  make_dir "$dir/restricted_dir/no_exec_dir"
+  chmod 000 -- "$dir/restricted_dir/no_exec_dir" # No permissions on the directory
+  make_dir "$dir/restricted_dir/no_exec_nonempty_dir"
+  make_file "$dir/restricted_dir/no_exec_nonempty_dir/.hidden_file"
+  chmod 000 -- "$dir/restricted_dir/no_exec_nonempty_dir" # No permissions on the directory
+
+  # Symlinks pointing outside the directory tree
+  make_dir "$realDir/some_dir"
+  make_file "$realDir/some_dir/real_file.txt"
+  ln -s -- "$realDir/some_dir/real_file.txt" "$dir/symlink_to_file" # Symlink to a file
+  ln -s -- "$realDir/some_dir" "$dir/symlink_to_dir"                # Symlink to a directory
+
+  # Bind mounts pointing outside the directory tree
+  make_bind_mounts "$realDir" "$dir"
+
+  # Bind mounts outside the directory tree pointing into it
+  # make_bind_mounts "$dir" "$realDir"
+}
+
+clutter "$@"
diff --git a/inttest/reset/reset_test.go b/inttest/reset/reset_test.go
index e34fcef8d989..d6e5d2a6712d 100644
--- a/inttest/reset/reset_test.go
+++ b/inttest/reset/reset_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ limitations under the License.
 package reset
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
+	_ "embed"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	testifysuite "github.com/stretchr/testify/suite"
@@ -28,11 +33,14 @@ type suite struct {
 	common.BootlooseSuite
 }
 
+//go:embed clutter-data-dir.sh
+var clutterScript []byte
+
 func (s *suite) TestReset() {
 	ctx := s.Context()
 	workerNode := s.WorkerNode(0)
 
-	if ok := s.Run("k0s gets up", func() {
+	if !s.Run("k0s gets up", func() {
 		s.Require().NoError(s.InitController(0, "--disable-components=konnectivity-server,metrics-server"))
 		s.Require().NoError(s.RunWorkers())
 
@@ -44,11 +52,7 @@ func (s *suite) TestReset() {
 
 		s.T().Log("waiting to see CNI pods ready")
 		s.NoError(common.WaitForKubeRouterReady(ctx, kc), "CNI did not start")
-	}); !ok {
-		return
-	}
 
-	s.Run("k0s reset", func() {
 		ssh, err := s.SSH(ctx, workerNode)
 		s.Require().NoError(err)
 		defer ssh.Disconnect()
@@ -57,14 +61,47 @@ func (s *suite) TestReset() {
 		s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, "test -d /run/k0s", common.SSHStreams{}), "/run/k0s is not a directory")
 
 		s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, "pidof containerd-shim-runc-v2 >&2", common.SSHStreams{}), "Expected some running containerd shims")
+	}) {
+		return
+	}
 
+	var clutteringPaths bytes.Buffer
+
+	if !s.Run("prepare k0s reset", func() {
 		s.NoError(s.StopWorker(workerNode), "Failed to stop k0s")
 
+		ssh, err := s.SSH(ctx, workerNode)
+		s.Require().NoError(err)
+		defer ssh.Disconnect()
+
+		streams, flushStreams := common.TestLogStreams(s.T(), "clutter data dir")
+		streams.In = bytes.NewReader(clutterScript)
+		streams.Out = io.MultiWriter(&clutteringPaths, streams.Out)
+		err = ssh.Exec(ctx, "sh -s -- /var/lib/k0s", streams)
+		flushStreams()
+		s.Require().NoError(err)
+	}) {
+		return
+	}
+
+	s.Run("k0s reset", func() {
+		ssh, err := s.SSH(ctx, workerNode)
+		s.Require().NoError(err)
+		defer ssh.Disconnect()
+
 		streams, flushStreams := common.TestLogStreams(s.T(), "reset")
 		err = ssh.Exec(ctx, "k0s reset --debug", streams)
 		flushStreams()
 		s.NoError(err, "k0s reset didn't exit cleanly")
 
+		for _, path := range strings.Split(string(bytes.TrimSpace(clutteringPaths.Bytes())), "\n") {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(path, "/var/lib/k0s") {
+				s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, fmt.Sprintf("! test -e %q", path), common.SSHStreams{}), "Failed to verify non-existence of %s", path)
+			} else {
+				s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, fmt.Sprintf("test -e %q", path), common.SSHStreams{}), "Failed to verify existence of %s", path)
+			}
+		}
+
 		// /var/lib/k0s is a mount point in the Docker container and can't be deleted, so it must be empty
 		s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, `x="$(ls -A /var/lib/k0s)" && echo "$x" >&2 && [ -z "$x" ]`, common.SSHStreams{}), "/var/lib/k0s is not empty")
 		s.NoError(ssh.Exec(ctx, "! test -e /run/k0s", common.SSHStreams{}), "/run/k0s still exists")
diff --git a/pkg/cleanup/containers.go b/pkg/cleanup/containers.go
index a3b063fcc896..b516977ddc6c 100644
--- a/pkg/cleanup/containers.go
+++ b/pkg/cleanup/containers.go
@@ -151,9 +151,6 @@ func (c *containers) stopAllContainers() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed at listing pods %w", err)
 	}
 	if len(pods) > 0 {
-		if err := removeMount("kubelet/pods"); err != nil {
-			errs = append(errs, err)
-		}
 		if err := removeMount("run/netns"); err != nil {
 			errs = append(errs, err)
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/cleanup/directories.go b/pkg/cleanup/directories.go
index 540a9f928a95..4a155d6e559f 100644
--- a/pkg/cleanup/directories.go
+++ b/pkg/cleanup/directories.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"k8s.io/mount-utils"
@@ -46,15 +47,39 @@ func (d *directories) Run() error {
 
 	var dataDirMounted bool
 
-	// search and unmount kubelet volume mounts
-	for _, v := range procMounts {
-		if v.Path == filepath.Join(d.Config.dataDir, "kubelet") {
+	// ensure that we don't delete any persistent data volumes that may be
+	// mounted by kubernetes by unmount every mount point under DataDir.
+	//
+	// Unmount in the reverse order it was mounted so we handle recursive
+	// bind mounts and over mounts properly. If we for any reason are not
+	// able to unmount, fall back to lazy unmount and if that also fails
+	// bail out and don't delete anything.
+	//
+	// Note that if there are any shared bind mounts under k0s data
+	// directory, we may end up unmounting stuff outside the k0s DataDir.
+	// If someone has set a bind mount to be shared, we assume that is the
+	// desired behavior. See MS_SHARED and NOTES:
+	//  - https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/mount.2.html
+	//  - https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/umount.2.html#NOTES
+	for i := len(procMounts) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
+		v := procMounts[i]
+		// avoid unmount datadir if its mounted on separate partition
+		// k0s didn't mount it so leave it alone
+		if v.Path == d.Config.k0sVars.DataDir {
+			dataDirMounted = true
+			continue
+		}
+		if isUnderPath(v.Path, filepath.Join(d.Config.dataDir, "kubelet")) || isUnderPath(v.Path, d.Config.k0sVars.DataDir) {
 			logrus.Debugf("%v is mounted! attempting to unmount...", v.Path)
 			if err = mounter.Unmount(v.Path); err != nil {
-				logrus.Warningf("failed to unmount %v", v.Path)
+				// if we fail to unmount, try lazy unmount so
+				// we don't end up deleting stuff that we
+				// shouldn't
+				logrus.Warningf("lazy unmounting %v", v.Path)
+				if err = UnmountLazy(v.Path); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("failed unmount %v", v.Path)
+				}
 			}
-		} else if v.Path == d.Config.dataDir {
-			dataDirMounted = true
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -81,7 +106,13 @@ func (d *directories) Run() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// this is for checking if the error retrned by os.RemoveAll is due to
+// test if the path is a directory equal to or under base
+func isUnderPath(path, base string) bool {
+	rel, err := filepath.Rel(base, path)
+	return err == nil && !strings.HasPrefix(rel, "..") && !filepath.IsAbs(rel)
+}
+
+// this is for checking if the error returned by os.RemoveAll is due to
 // it being a mount point. if it is, we can ignore the error. this way
 // we can't rely on os.RemoveAll instead of recursively deleting the
 // contents of the directory
diff --git a/pkg/cleanup/unmount_unix.go b/pkg/cleanup/unmount_unix.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e02ab43996ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cleanup/unmount_unix.go
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+//go:build unix
+
+/*
+Copyright 2024 k0s authors
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package cleanup
+
+import (
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
+)
+
+func UnmountLazy(path string) error {
+	return unix.Unmount(path, unix.MNT_DETACH)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cleanup/unmount_windows.go b/pkg/cleanup/unmount_windows.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8e936605b7f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/cleanup/unmount_windows.go
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2024 k0s authors
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package cleanup
+
+import "fmt"
+
+func UnmountLazy(path string) error {
+	return fmt.Errorf("lazy unmount is not supported on Windows for path: %s", path)
+}