Wheat Paste Under Ancient Wallpaper

[PattyBoots]

I live in a farmhouse that was built pre-1900 and that was both electrified and plumbed well after it was built. It still has much of the very old wallpaper, which was put up in those days with what amounts to a flour paste. A few years ago I had started taking the wallpaper down, but then life got in the way and I literally spent every waking hour for three years taking care of my parents as they died; my father of lung cancer at home and my mother at well-known-but-horrible-clinic-in-Ohio as she died of sepsis (from undx'd celiac I'm convinced since she'd suffered from what they called ulcerative colitis for over 40 years and then Crohn's a few days before she died). So, there's spots where there's exposed plaster and spots where it's just coming off the walls. I believe there's not a surface in my home that's not been glutened and this is why I still feel awful.

Does this sound like a legitimate idea or am I just harebrained, grasping at straws?

We are at present looking to purchase a lot and build a new home within 6 months; actively working with a realtor now, so hopefully it's a moot point, but still, I'm awfully curious.

[Susie B]

I live in a farmhouse that was built pre-1900 and that was both electrified and plumbed well after it was built. It still has much of the very old wallpaper, which was put up in those days with what amounts to a flour paste. A few years ago I had started taking the wallpaper down, but then life got in the way and I literally spent every waking hour for three years taking care of my parents as they died; my father of lung cancer at home and my mother at well-known-but-horrible-clinic-in-Ohio as she died of sepsis (from undx'd celiac I'm convinced since she'd suffered from what they called ulcerative colitis for over 40 years and then Crohn's a few days before she died). So, there's spots where there's exposed plaster and spots where it's just coming off the walls. I believe there's not a surface in my home that's not been glutened and this is why I still feel awful.

Does this sound like a legitimate idea or am I just harebrained, grasping at straws?

We are at present looking to purchase a lot and build a new home within 6 months; actively working with a realtor now, so hopefully it's a moot point, but still, I'm awfully curious.

I'm learning that anything is possible. You probably would have to have the paste tested to know for sure what's in it as some of the old wallpaper pastes were made with corn starch instead of wheat flour.

[curiousgeorge]

I'd say you have lead to worry about too.

[Roda]

When I was growing up I lived in a house that my grandparents and great grandparents lived in. Not only could lead be an issue but so could asbestos. The siding on that house had it in and my dad had to dispose of it properly when he did remodeling. I don't know how long ago they stopped using it, but electric wires and other stuff could be wrapped in asbestos tape. The asbestos is not a problem if whatever it is in is intact. It is when it becomes airborn, ie something that is crumbling or dry rotted or from remodeling, that you can inhale it that causes the problems. Anything is possible and if the glue is dry and becoming airborn, I suppose you could inhale it and possibly swallow what you inhale too. What about mold or fungus? Is your house damp or gotten any significant water damage? Both of these in a house (under carpets, floors, basement, crawl spaces, in walls etc) can cause a host of problems.

[MaryJones2]

There are lot of nasty things stirred up in a remodelling. While it's not all gluten it certainly has the potential to make you ill. There are tons of chemicals and substances floating around a consturction site- especially during the demolotion phase - that can just wreak havock on anyone's systems. This site may point you in the right direction = Open Original Shared Link Maybe they can answer your original question.

[PattyBoots]

I'd say you have lead to worry about too.

That, I know I don't have to worry about because my parents used to rent this place out, and one of the tenants tried to sue over lead because one of their children was autistic. My parents spent many thousands of dollars having the house tested (because it was much less money than they were being sued for). No lead was found, the suit was tossed out of court, and it was later determined that the renters sued EVERY previous landlord trying to make a buck, for everything under the sun.