diff --git a/lib/redacting_logger.rb b/lib/redacting_logger.rb
index de3b640..9526f38 100644
--- a/lib/redacting_logger.rb
+++ b/lib/redacting_logger.rb
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ def initialize(
     @redact_patterns = redact_patterns
     @redacted_msg = redacted_msg
     @redact_patterns += Patterns::DEFAULT if use_default_patterns
+
+    @redact_patterns = Regexp.union(@redact_patterns)
   end
 
   # Adds a message to the log.
@@ -40,30 +42,24 @@ def initialize(
   def add(severity, message = nil, progname = nil)
     message, progname = yield if block_given?
 
-    @redact_patterns.each do |pattern|
-      case message
-
-      when String, Symbol, Numeric
-        message = message.to_s.gsub(pattern, @redacted_msg)
+    case message
 
-      when Array
-        message = message.map do |m|
-          m.to_s.gsub(pattern, @redacted_msg)
-        end
+    when String, Symbol, Numeric
+      message = message.to_s.gsub(@redact_patterns, @redacted_msg)
 
-      when Hash
-        message = message.transform_values do |v|
-          v.to_s.gsub(pattern, @redacted_msg)
-        end
+    when Array
+      message = message.map do |m|
+        m.to_s.gsub(@redact_patterns, @redacted_msg)
       end
-    end
 
-    if progname
-      @redact_patterns.each do |pattern|
-        progname = progname.to_s.gsub(pattern, @redacted_msg)
+    when Hash
+      message = message.transform_values do |v|
+        v.to_s.gsub(@redact_patterns, @redacted_msg)
       end
     end
 
+    progname = progname.to_s.gsub(@redact_patterns, @redacted_msg) if progname
+
     super
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/version.rb b/lib/version.rb
index 3b357a5..19dc913 100644
--- a/lib/version.rb
+++ b/lib/version.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
 
 module RedactingLogger
   module Version
-    VERSION = "1.3.2"
+    VERSION = "1.4.0"
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/lib/redacting_logger_spec.rb b/spec/lib/redacting_logger_spec.rb
index fc4b907..88294bb 100644
--- a/spec/lib/redacting_logger_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/redacting_logger_spec.rb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
       )
 
       expect(logger.level).to eq(level)
-      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns)).to eq(redact_patterns)
+      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns)).to eq(/secret|password/)
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@logdev).dev).to eq($stdout)
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redacted_msg)).to eq("!!!REDACTED!!!")
     end
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
     it "ensures the class is initialized properly with default values" do
       logger = RedactingLogger.new(use_default_patterns: false)
       expect(logger.level).to eq(Logger::DEBUG)
-      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns)).to eq([])
+      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns)).to eq(/(?!)/)
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@logdev).dev).to eq($stdout)
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redacted_msg)).to eq("[REDACTED]")
     end
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     it "ensures the class is initialized properly with default values and uses built-in patterns" do
       logger = RedactingLogger.new($stdout, use_default_patterns: true)
       expect(logger.level).to eq(Logger::DEBUG)
-      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns).length).to be > 0
+      expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redact_patterns).to_s.length).to be > 0
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@logdev).dev).to eq($stdout)
       expect(logger.instance_variable_get(:@redacted_msg)).to eq("[REDACTED]")
     end
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@
     let(:logger) { RedactingLogger.new(logdev, redact_patterns: [/secret/, /password/, /token_[A-Z]{5}/, /999999999/]) }
 
     [
+      {
+        case: "does not redact anything",
+        message: "This is a non-sensitive message with no redacted patterns",
+        expected_message: "This is a non-sensitive message with no redacted patterns"
+      },
       {
         case: "secret message",
         message: "This is a secret password",