Hi,
I'm another Tom from Birmingham.
I took a look at your blog, I've been using water/vinegar as a cleaner for a while but the smell is very strong, will take your advice and add some lemon oil to take the edge off.
Did you do a Loaf sourdough course? We did this last year and have been sourdoughing ever since to varying levels of success. If I try and rush the process it almost guarantees failure, making a loaf so dense it could be used as a building material.