diff --git a/core/src/components/datetime/datetime-util.ts b/core/src/components/datetime/datetime-util.ts
index 0c3ba61d55..6a18709ca0 100644
--- a/core/src/components/datetime/datetime-util.ts
+++ b/core/src/components/datetime/datetime-util.ts
@@ -247,8 +247,8 @@ export function parseDate(val: string | undefined | null): DatetimeData | undefi
  * Note: This is not meant for time strings
  * such as "01:47"
  */
-export const getLocalDateTime = (dateString = ''): Date => {
-  const date = (dateString.length > 0) ? new Date(dateString) : new Date();
+export const getLocalDateTime = (dateString: any = ''): Date => {
+  const date = (typeof dateString === 'string' && dateString.length > 0) ? new Date(dateString) : new Date();
 
   return new Date(
     Date.UTC(
diff --git a/core/src/components/datetime/test/datetime.spec.ts b/core/src/components/datetime/test/datetime.spec.ts
index 362bc8fa00..0611d1c3b5 100644
--- a/core/src/components/datetime/test/datetime.spec.ts
+++ b/core/src/components/datetime/test/datetime.spec.ts
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ describe('Datetime', () => {
         { expectedHourUTC: 12, input: `2019-11-02T12:08:06.601-00:00`, expectedOutput: `2019-11-02T%HOUR%:08:06.601Z` },
         { expectedHourUTC: 8, input: `1994-12-15T13:47:20.789+05:00`, expectedOutput: `1994-12-15T%HOUR%:47:20.789Z` },
         { expectedHourUTC: 18, input: `1994-12-15T13:47:20.789-05:00`, expectedOutput: `1994-12-15T%HOUR%:47:20.789Z` },
-        { expectedHourUTC: 9, input: `2019-02-14T09:00:00.000Z`, expectedOutput: `2019-02-14T%HOUR%:00:00.000Z` } 
+        { expectedHourUTC: 9, input: `2019-02-14T09:00:00.000Z`, expectedOutput: `2019-02-14T%HOUR%:00:00.000Z` }
       ];
       
       dateStringTests.forEach(test => {