Pasta Madre (Lievito Madre)

So, I've been making Pullman sandwich loaves with my 100% hydration starter and they are great but the faint sourness is a turn off for some kids.  A friend recommended converting my starter into a pasta madre as the base, since the 'washing' is supposed to reduce/remove the acetic acid.

Unfortunately, the discussions about this are worse that the regular sourdough discussions, imho.  The only consensus I can find is that it's kept room temp at 50% hydration, but times between feeding, using, instructions on washing, are all over the map (or in Italian).

Is there anyone who can point me to a reference work or break this down simply?  I mean, Italian grandmothers did this, so it's not like it's building a nuclear reactor.

Thanks in advance.