referring now to fig2 a 2d the operation of the steam iron 10 is shown fig2 a shows the steam iron 10 in an upright or erect position the iron 10 would be in such position for example before or after use or when the user is taking a break or re positioning the item being ironed when the iron 10 is in the upright position i e the tilt angle is about 90 u00b0 as detected by the sensor 40 the first valve 28 is maintained in the closed position fig2 b and 2c show the iron 10 in a flat or in use position i e the tilt angle is close to 0 u00b0 as detected by the sensor 40 in such case the sensor 40 also measures the speed at which the iron is being moved either forward or backward and can cause steam to be sprayed out of the steam outlets 14 that is the tilt angle and speed data are provided from the sensor 40 to the controller 34 and the controller 34 causes the first valve 28 to be opened or closed as the case may be fig2 d shows the steam iron 10 being lifted or moved from a relatively flat in use position to an upright position when the iron 10 is at an angle of greater than about 10 u00b0 the controller 34 causes the first.