diff --git a/gtsam/hybrid/HybridSmoother.h b/gtsam/hybrid/HybridSmoother.h
index 96c8391b4..c3f022c62 100644
--- a/gtsam/hybrid/HybridSmoother.h
+++ b/gtsam/hybrid/HybridSmoother.h
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ class GTSAM_EXPORT HybridSmoother {
    * @param deadModeThreshold The threshold above which a mode gets assigned a
    * value and is considered "dead". 0.99 is a good starting value.
    */
-  HybridSmoother(const std::optional<double> deadModeThreshold)
+  HybridSmoother(const std::optional<double> deadModeThreshold = {})
       : deadModeThreshold_(deadModeThreshold) {}
 
   /**
diff --git a/gtsam/hybrid/tests/testHybridSmoother.cpp b/gtsam/hybrid/tests/testHybridSmoother.cpp
index 815e32560..3a0f376cc 100644
--- a/gtsam/hybrid/tests/testHybridSmoother.cpp
+++ b/gtsam/hybrid/tests/testHybridSmoother.cpp
@@ -194,8 +194,6 @@ TEST(HybridSmoother, DeadModeRemoval) {
 
     HybridGaussianFactorGraph linearized = *graph.linearize(initial);
 
-    // std::cout << "\n\n\nk" << std::endl;
-    // GTSAM_PRINT(linearized);
     smoother.update(linearized, maxNrLeaves);
 
     // Clear all the factors from the graph