There is an auto-lift foot mechanism installed underneath the ironing plate. When you finish ironing, simply place the iron face down on your board and let go of the handle. The iron will automatically lift itself up approximately 5/8 inch off of the board to a safe resting position. When you grasp the handle to iron again, the foot mechanism draws back up under the ironing plate. I believe that all of the models do have a switch where you can disable the auto-lift and then you would treat it like a regular iron and set it upright when you finish ironing.