I prefer starch, but I get the concentrated and mix it 60/40, 60 being the starch, it goes a lot further and is considerably cheaper than the cans of starch. A lot of people don't understand how to use the starch and because of this they have problems with flaking and gunk on the iron. That's because they're ironing the starch and not the fabric. To use it without problems, spray the right side of the fabric, roll or wad it up and stick in a large ziplok bag for a minimum of 2 hours, remove and air dry, iron, you can either use steam or spray water. I use a garden sprayer because I have problems with my wrist, and you can adjust the spray how you like it.