diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index cbcda6f..344830d 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -243,8 +243,7 @@ func (br *bridge) publish(n *notification) error {
 
 	// ntfy authentication
 	if br.cfg.ntfy.Password != "" && br.cfg.ntfy.User != "" {
-		auth := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", br.cfg.ntfy.User, br.cfg.ntfy.Password)))
-		req.Header.Set("Authorization", fmt.Sprintf("Basic %s", auth))
+		req.SetBasicAuth(br.cfg.ntfy.User, br.cfg.ntfy.Password)
 	} else if br.cfg.ntfy.AccessToken != "" {
 		req.Header.Set("Authorization", fmt.Sprintf("Bearer %s", br.cfg.ntfy.AccessToken))
 	}
diff --git a/silence.go b/silence.go
index 78d0951..b4cfc32 100644
--- a/silence.go
+++ b/silence.go
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"time"
@@ -104,8 +103,7 @@ func (br *bridge) handleSilences(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 	// Basic auth
 	if br.cfg.am.User != "" && br.cfg.am.Password != "" {
-		auth := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", br.cfg.am.User, br.cfg.am.Password)))
-		req.Header.Set("Authorization", fmt.Sprintf("Basic %s", auth))
+		req.SetBasicAuth(br.cfg.am.User, br.cfg.am.Password)
 	}
 
 	req.Header.Add("Content-Type", "application/json")