diff --git a/net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_sync.c b/net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_sync.c
index f63c2388f38d..db801263ee9f 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_sync.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/ipvs/ip_vs_sync.c
@@ -1637,7 +1637,10 @@ static int sync_thread_master(void *data)
 			continue;
 		}
 		while (ip_vs_send_sync_msg(tinfo->sock, sb->mesg) < 0) {
-			int ret = __wait_event_interruptible(*sk_sleep(sk),
+			/* (Ab)use interruptible sleep to avoid increasing
+			 * the load avg.
+			 */
+			__wait_event_interruptible(*sk_sleep(sk),
 						   sock_writeable(sk) ||
 						   kthread_should_stop());
 			if (unlikely(kthread_should_stop()))