How do I get PHP to save a backslash in a Mysql table?

Hi, I have a field in which a user inputs a Windows style directory path, hence using backslashes and not forward slashes. Example: c:\qb\data\mydatadile.qbw However, when the use clicks update, what gets saved is: c:qbdatamydatadile.qbw Does anyone know if there is a work around? The backslashes mysteriously are stripped. I use the following function to wrap each variable that's saved in the MySQL table: function update_database($value) { // Addslashes if (!(get_magic_quotes_gpc())) { $value = addslashes($value); } // Quote if not a number or a numeric string if (!is_numeric($value)) { $value = mysql_real_escape_string($value); } return $value; }