diff --git a/fs/filter.go b/fs/filter.go
index 639d6013d..d3e8173fa 100644
--- a/fs/filter.go
+++ b/fs/filter.go
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ func forEachLine(path string, fn func(string) error) (err error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer checkClose(in, &err)
+	defer CheckClose(in, &err)
 	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(in)
 	for scanner.Scan() {
 		line := scanner.Text()
diff --git a/fs/fs.go b/fs/fs.go
index 5188870e3..aef392093 100644
--- a/fs/fs.go
+++ b/fs/fs.go
@@ -305,9 +305,9 @@ func ErrorLog(o interface{}, text string, args ...interface{}) {
 	OutputLog(o, text, args...)
 }
 
-// checkClose is a utility function used to check the return from
+// CheckClose is a utility function used to check the return from
 // Close in a defer statement.
-func checkClose(c io.Closer, err *error) {
+func CheckClose(c io.Closer, err *error) {
 	cerr := c.Close()
 	if *err == nil {
 		*err = cerr
diff --git a/hubic/hubic.go b/hubic/hubic.go
index 35f3047e7..5f522c72f 100644
--- a/hubic/hubic.go
+++ b/hubic/hubic.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ package hubic
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"time"
@@ -103,15 +102,6 @@ func (f *Fs) String() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("Hubic %s", f.Fs.String())
 }
 
-// checkClose is a utility function used to check the return from
-// Close in a defer statement.
-func checkClose(c io.Closer, err *error) {
-	cerr := c.Close()
-	if *err == nil {
-		*err = cerr
-	}
-}
-
 // getCredentials reads the OpenStack Credentials using the Hubic API
 //
 // The credentials are read into the Fs
@@ -125,7 +115,7 @@ func (f *Fs) getCredentials() (err error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	defer checkClose(resp.Body, &err)
+	defer fs.CheckClose(resp.Body, &err)
 	if resp.StatusCode < 200 || resp.StatusCode > 299 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("Failed to get credentials: %s", resp.Status)
 	}
diff --git a/rest/rest.go b/rest/rest.go
index cf6e8ec0f..65c17d80e 100644
--- a/rest/rest.go
+++ b/rest/rest.go
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ func NewClient(c *http.Client, rootURL string) *Client {
 
 // defaultErrorHandler doesn't attempt to parse the http body
 func defaultErrorHandler(resp *http.Response) (err error) {
-	defer checkClose(resp.Body, &err)
+	defer fs.CheckClose(resp.Body, &err)
 	return fmt.Errorf("HTTP error %v (%v) returned", resp.StatusCode, resp.Status)
 }
 
@@ -52,18 +52,9 @@ type Opts struct {
 	ExtraHeaders  map[string]string
 }
 
-// checkClose is a utility function used to check the return from
-// Close in a defer statement.
-func checkClose(c io.Closer, err *error) {
-	cerr := c.Close()
-	if *err == nil {
-		*err = cerr
-	}
-}
-
 // DecodeJSON decodes resp.Body into result
 func DecodeJSON(resp *http.Response, result interface{}) (err error) {
-	defer checkClose(resp.Body, &err)
+	defer fs.CheckClose(resp.Body, &err)
 	decoder := json.NewDecoder(resp.Body)
 	return decoder.Decode(result)
 }