Hi Sasha, it's not unusual for the starter to smell bad at some points in the sourdough creation process, so there's no need to panic or change what you're doing, although I would recommend covering your starter with plastic wrap to help prevent it from drying out on top. The starter doesn't need exposure to the air in order to ferment. The reason we say to "cover loosely" has to do with the possibility of fermentation gases building up and popping the lid off. Plastic wrap will flex, so this shouldn't be an issue. It's fine to keep using your home filter jug as long as it's clean. I did hear of a case where someone noticed algae growing on their pitcher and this caused issues with the starter, but as long as your pitcher isn't growing algae, I think you're okay! Barb

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