I just went to the dollar store and bought a spray bottle..pretty little pink one and use that! Works great. i hadn't thought about letting the starch sit until nearly dry to save residue on the bottom of the iron. I will start doing that. My iron is Black and Decker and about 30 years old! THe spray doesn't work, but it wasn't that great when it did. I prefer the spray bottle...I can get the water to where I want it to go instead of just where the iron wants to spray it!