One tip about steam irons. Be sure the steam is set to off when the iron is warming up. The iron has to be at steam temp before turning the steam on. This will eliminate most all of the spitting and sputtering. If you have auto shut off you have to turn the steam off and wait until it heats up again to turn back on. If the steam setting is left on even if the iron is hot, it will spit and sputter when tilted. The water hits the heated metal and sputters to steam instantly. I got in the habit of turning the setting to off each time I'm done using it.