diff --git a/src/main/java/com/letterpaw/soap/util/Mailer.java b/src/main/java/com/letterpaw/soap/util/Mailer.java
index eb1106e8bb08998a698fe1dccc3c6abef6750d09..d17365b03bcfa0f554e323f0346c2f041bf28a68 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/letterpaw/soap/util/Mailer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/letterpaw/soap/util/Mailer.java
@@ -17,43 +17,36 @@ public class Mailer {
     static final String password = dotenv.get("MAILER_PASS", "mail-pw");
 
     // configuration settings for the SMTP server
-//    static final Properties props = new Properties() {
-//        {
-//            put("mail.smtp.auth", "true");
-//            put("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", "true");
-//            put("mail.smtp.host", System.getenv().getOrDefault("MAILER_HOST", "smtp.gmail.com"));
-//            put("mail.smtp.port", System.getenv().getOrDefault("MAILER_PORT", "465"));
-//        }
-//    };
-
-    // session object from jakarta mail API
-//    static final Session session = Session.getInstance(props,
-//            new Authenticator() {
-//                protected PasswordAuthentication getPasswordAuthentication() {
-//                    return new PasswordAuthentication(username, password);
-//                }
-//            });
-
     static final Properties props = new Properties() {
         {
-            put("mail.smtp.host", "sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io");
-            put("mail.smtp.port", "2525");
             put("mail.smtp.auth", "true");
             put("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", "true");
-            put("mail.smtp.starttls.required", "true");
-            put("mail.smtp.ssl.trust", "sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io");
-            put("mail.username", username);
-            put("mail.password", password);
+            put("mail.smtp.EnableSSL.enable", "true");
+            put("mail.smtp.host", dotenv.get("MAILER_HOST"));
+            put("mail.smtp.port", dotenv.get("MAILER_PORT"));
         }
     };
 
-
+    // session object from jakarta mail API
     static final Session session = Session.getInstance(props, new jakarta.mail.Authenticator() {
         protected PasswordAuthentication getPasswordAuthentication() {
             return new PasswordAuthentication(username, password);
         }
     });
 
+//    static final Properties props = new Properties() {
+//        {
+//            put("mail.smtp.host", "sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io");
+//            put("mail.smtp.port", "2525");
+//            put("mail.smtp.auth", "true");
+//            put("mail.smtp.starttls.enable", "true");
+//            put("mail.smtp.starttls.required", "true");
+//            put("mail.smtp.ssl.trust", "sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io");
+//            put("mail.username", username);
+//            put("mail.password", password);
+//        }
+//    };
+
     public static void sendMail(String to, String subject, String textMsg) {
         try {
             // create new email