Yeah,I generally always tilt a push mower to lift the blades when I start them also. Besides getting it off grass it also helps lower the handle to a level where you can pull with more torque if it is mounted on the handlebar.
Also,there is no need 90% of the time to put a new plug in.
Unless the engine is running too lean the copper electrode won't corrode much with the low voltage ignition on these.
Just clean em off and sandpaper the electrode and ground strap,reset gap if needed. unless the tip looks melted or you see a crack in the ceremic part it's likely still good in my experience.