diff --git a/rq/scripts/__init__.py b/rq/scripts/__init__.py
index bfbb3a13..cab1f976 100644
--- a/rq/scripts/__init__.py
+++ b/rq/scripts/__init__.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def setup_default_arguments(args, settings):
 
     args.host = strict_first([args.host, settings.get('REDIS_HOST'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_HOST'), 'localhost'])
     args.port = int(strict_first([args.port, settings.get('REDIS_PORT'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_PORT'), 6379]))
-    args.socket = strict_first([args.socket, settings.get('REDIS_SOCKET'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_SOCKET'), False])
+    args.socket = strict_first([args.socket, settings.get('REDIS_SOCKET'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_SOCKET'), None])
     args.db = strict_first([args.db, settings.get('REDIS_DB'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_DB'), 0])
     args.password = strict_first([args.password, settings.get('REDIS_PASSWORD'), os.environ.get('RQ_REDIS_PASSWORD')])
 
diff --git a/rq/worker.py b/rq/worker.py
index 05b4fa0d..11df4074 100644
--- a/rq/worker.py
+++ b/rq/worker.py
@@ -100,8 +100,8 @@ class Worker(object):
         return worker
 
     def __init__(self, queues, name=None,
-                 default_result_ttl=DEFAULT_RESULT_TTL, connection=None,
-                 exc_handler=None, default_worker_ttl=DEFAULT_WORKER_TTL):  # noqa
+                 default_result_ttl=None, connection=None,
+                 exc_handler=None, default_worker_ttl=None):  # noqa
         if connection is None:
             connection = get_current_connection()
         self.connection = connection
@@ -111,8 +111,15 @@ class Worker(object):
         self.queues = queues
         self.validate_queues()
         self._exc_handlers = []
+
+        if default_result_ttl is None:
+            default_result_ttl = DEFAULT_RESULT_TTL
         self.default_result_ttl = default_result_ttl
+
+        if default_worker_ttl is None:
+            default_worker_ttl = DEFAULT_WORKER_TTL
         self.default_worker_ttl = default_worker_ttl
+
         self._state = 'starting'
         self._is_horse = False
         self._horse_pid = 0
@@ -334,7 +341,7 @@ class Worker(object):
                 if self.stopped:
                     self.log.info('Stopping on request.')
                     break
-                
+
                 timeout = None if burst else max(1, self.default_worker_ttl - 60)
                 try:
                     result = self.dequeue_job_and_maintain_ttl(timeout)
@@ -359,21 +366,21 @@ class Worker(object):
     def dequeue_job_and_maintain_ttl(self, timeout):
         result = None
         qnames = self.queue_names()
-        
-        self.set_state('idle')            
+
+        self.set_state('idle')
         self.procline('Listening on %s' % ','.join(qnames))
         self.log.info('')
         self.log.info('*** Listening on %s...' %
                       green(', '.join(qnames)))
-        
+
         while True:
             self.heartbeat()
-                
+
             try:
                 result = Queue.dequeue_any(self.queues, timeout,
                                            connection=self.connection)
                 if result is not None:
-                    job, queue = result                
+                    job, queue = result
                     self.log.info('%s: %s (%s)' % (green(queue.name),
                                   blue(job.description), job.id))
 
@@ -455,9 +462,9 @@ class Worker(object):
         """
 
         self.set_state('busy')
-        self.set_current_job_id(job.id)        
+        self.set_current_job_id(job.id)
         self.heartbeat((job.timeout or 180) + 60)
-        
+
         self.procline('Processing %s from %s since %s' % (
             job.func_name,
             job.origin, time.time()))
@@ -470,14 +477,14 @@ class Worker(object):
                 # Pickle the result in the same try-except block since we need to
                 # use the same exc handling when pickling fails
                 job._result = rv
-                
+
                 self.set_current_job_id(None, pipeline=pipeline)
 
                 result_ttl = job.get_ttl(self.default_result_ttl)
                 if result_ttl != 0:
                     job.save(pipeline=pipeline)
                 job.cleanup(result_ttl, pipeline=pipeline)
-                
+
                 pipeline.execute()
 
             except Exception: