diff --git a/src/tools/pw-cat.c b/src/tools/pw-cat.c
index 8bbb91300..377be2702 100644
--- a/src/tools/pw-cat.c
+++ b/src/tools/pw-cat.c
@@ -1778,7 +1778,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			break;
 
 		case OPT_VOLUME:
-			data.volume = (float)atof(optarg);
+			if (!spa_atof(optarg, &data.volume))
+				data.volume = (float)atof(optarg);
 			break;
 		default:
 			goto error_usage;
diff --git a/src/tools/pw-loopback.c b/src/tools/pw-loopback.c
index 7fbebbc51..1f77f6ae6 100644
--- a/src/tools/pw-loopback.c
+++ b/src/tools/pw-loopback.c
@@ -163,7 +163,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			data.latency = atoi(optarg) * DEFAULT_RATE / SPA_MSEC_PER_SEC;
 			break;
 		case 'd':
-			data.delay = (float)atof(optarg);
+			if (!spa_atof(optarg, &data.delay))
+				data.delay = (float)atof(optarg);
 			break;
 		case 'C':
 			pw_properties_set(data.capture_props, PW_KEY_TARGET_OBJECT, optarg);