Is my dishwasher glutening me?

[LMR123]

Hi everyone, I’ve never posted on here before, but I’m looking for some advice.

I’ve been diagnosed celiac for over 3 years now and I take it very seriously and I am strict about cross contamination.

Im only 21 and live at home so I have to share a kitchen with my family. We don’t have a big kitchen, but we do our best to keep everything safe.

Recently I’ve started getting stomach aches quite frequently, and I’m wondering if there’s some cross contamination going on that I’m not seeing.

I have my own separate cupboard and counter space in the kitchen for my toaster and no other food is prepared there. There is one shelf in the fridge for gluten foods (but that’s minimal and is things such as butter for my family, maybe a packaged cake, or meats my family use for sandwiches) and every other shelf is gluten free. My family have a cupboard for gluten food and the counter above it is used to prepare it. The other cupboards in the kitchen have other foods that are gluten free but not specifically my own (such as snacks, ingredients etc), and the other counter spaces are used to prepare any meals that don’t contain gluten.

We try really hard to keep me safe, but I’m gong to list anything I can think of that could be causing this:

My family tend to leave crumbs on the gluten counter, could they be somehow swept onto the floor and somehow make it across the kitchen to the gluten free area?

my biggest guess though is: we got a new dishwasher a few weeks ago, and it’s not the best, cutlery sometimes comes out with tiny marks left on it for example and plates feeling gritty. I only then take out the dishwasher the plates/cutlery etc that seem fully clean, and re wash anything else. Is it possible there’s gluten left that can’t be seen or felt somehow from the dishwasher even on the things that seem clean? I also re rinse any cutlery/plates etc that I’m about to use with hot water under the tap just to be safe.

I went away for a weekend last week, and I didn’t have a stomach ache once when preparing food in the lodges kitchen (took my own pan, a new pack of cutlery etc), so I think it’s my kitchen that’s the issue.

its funny how the new dishwasher and my stomach aches line up, and I can’t think of anything else.

Sorry this is so long, thank you to anyone who spent the time to read this

[Scott Adams]

Your diligence in managing cross-contamination is impressive, and it does sound like the dishwasher could be the culprit—especially since your symptoms started around the time you got it. Even if plates and cutlery look clean, gluten proteins can linger if the dishwasher isn’t effectively removing residue. Grittiness or visible marks suggest it may not be cleaning thoroughly, and gluten could still be present even after a cycle.

A few things to try:

• Run the dishwasher on the hottest, longest cycle (if possible) to improve cleaning.
• Hand-wash your dedicated gluten-free dishes with a fresh sponge (not one used for gluten) as a temporary test—see if symptoms improve.
• Check the dishwasher’s filter for buildup (gluten crumbs could be recirculating).

Since you felt fine away from home, the issue is likely in your kitchen, and the dishwasher timing is suspicious. Keep troubleshooting—you’re on the right track!

[trents]

Or, you could be experiencing the development of additional food sensitivities/cross-reactivity and eating away from home at the lodge temporarily removed those foods from your diet.

[Scott Adams]

That is true! Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months.

Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal.

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