Celiacs And Non-Celiacs, Recipe For Disaster?

[Leper Messiah]

I live with a flatmate who eats a ton of gluten-y things.

I have a separate cupboard, cutlery, plates, shelf in the fridge, kitchen top area to prepare my food. I'm as meticulous as I can be (I'm not perfect but I can't think of much anyone else could do to avoid it).

Still I seem to get hit again and again, it's proving almost impossible to avoid and as tiredness is my main symptom I'm drained all the time. I don't cook from scratch and pretty much use 'simple' foods to avoid any CC risk so think either I'm uber sensitive or it's just naive of me to expect this to work in the long-run (i.e. I need a gluten free kitchen). It seems like it's a tiny amount of CC that kicks off my symptoms too which is of course even more frustrating.

Anyone got similar issues and have an opinion?

[pricklypear1971]

It may not be the kitchen. Gluteny people touch things with gluteny hands -door knobs, etc.

Sorry, I know that doesn't help ease your mind but perhaps it can help prevent some cc.

[sariesue]

It may not be the kitchen. Gluteny people touch things with gluteny hands -door knobs, etc.

Sorry, I know that doesn't help ease your mind but perhaps it can help prevent some cc.

This is probably a pretty stupid question but do you make sure that you always wash your hands before you touch your food, eat, touch your gluten-free surfaces? I ask because if you touch a counter that has gluten on it, then reach into a bag of gluten-free pretzels they now are contaminated. Also, do you share condiments with your flatmates? Things like butter, jelly, peanut butter? Those could be contaminated too, so you should have separate ones and make sure that your flatmates aren't "borrowing" yours.

[Leper Messiah]

Yeah I think this is where the issue is to be honest, he touches everything with his gluten-y hands. But as he pays rent I'm in a bit of a quandary, he is very supportive, I just think if I push it he'll be off.

Hmm things to consider, I guess I could move some food etc to my bedroom and maybe prep / eat there.

How often do you guys change sponges if you live in a gluten containing house?

[pricklypear1971]

Keep your own cleaning supplies and start routinely cleaning suspect surfaces. Just be polite about it, see if it helps.

[Jnkmp8]

Hi

I so understand I live & work in same environment without the space etc of separate surfaces & crockery etc. What I do is I have a large box of medical glives that I put on as soon as I enter the glutened environment.

I detox all surfaces etc so sterile b4 I remove hlives. As I only have to touch gluten to react with a glutened attack & DH!

Good luck I know it's hard but you'll get there!

Also watch out for any medication & products you use--- I fond those worse than food sources.

J xx

[Takala]

Sponges ? No way, it's paper towels for wipe ups, and this house is gluten free. Those things are germ vectors anyway.

What about ice cubes ? My spouse used to get me with those by using hand lotion, then bare handing ice cubes into a glass for me. He's also gotten me by changing a brand of diet soda from "manufacturer says its gluten free" to one that was the same flavor, but a different brand on sale with "natural flavors" - in the USA, currently, there's a loophole that can be anything. Lordy, I was torqued off about the soda because he knows better about this casually changing brands and it was just enough to keep flaring me up in my joints again and again this summer by putting a splash of this into a glass of club soda for flavor. And I figured this out by his going on a trip for four days and I didn't touch it, and voila, no issues.... what was different.... I just had club soda.

In a shared household you HAVE to keep them out of your butter, etc, or they crumb it up. I've seen my spouse redip a spoon or knife into a jar of salsa, for example, and then spread it on anything again and again, there is just no way they bother to remember this cross contamination issue, unless THEY'RE the ones getting sick from it.

[Jenniferxgfx]

Sponges are evil! I kept reacting whenever I do thedishes after someone else has done any kitchen cleaning... I realized the sponge was being used for gluten (like the cat food dishes, which I always soaked/rinsed/never sponged, but no one else did it that way). we've now changed food so it's ok, but I had to replace the sponge. I used to run them through the dishwasher and replace them regularly, but it only took one time with someone but me in the kitchen, and I was guaranteed a reaction. Plus if the sponge has gluten, an it wipes down the counters, now all the counters are cc'd.

Beyond sponges, the whole world is like a gluten magnet. Remote controls, doorknobs, light switches... Yesterday I realized the crumbs in my laptop keyboard were definitely contaminating me. (arrrgh.) my laptop is 5 years old and I haven't used it regularly in 2 years, but gluten is forever!

I'm not saying this to scare you or to give your roommate the boot, just to think about all the ways we physically interact with the world around us and to be mindful of where we put our hands. I've really had to learn to NEVER touch my face unless I've just washed up, change hoodies/shirts if I think I've been cc'd by my environment, think twice before I do much of anything. It's been a real lesson in mindfulness!

it's nice your roommate seems okay with everything. I hope you two can work it out!

[Katrala]

We have separate sponges for use around the sink and they are kept on separate sides of the sink in a container and never cross. One side of the side is used for gluten pans / pots and the other is used for gluten-free.

[kareng]

We have 2 different colored sponges. Blue is for gluten. Pink/lavender/any color but blue (hard to always find pink) for gluten-free. You could put you gluten-free sponge away on a plate in the cabinet or in your room when not in use. Or even set it so its not the closest, easiest to grab sponge to the sink.

[Leper Messiah]

Cheers guys, replies much appreciated. I think I've came to a bit of a compromise with my flat-mate. I've offered to do his dishes as I'm sure the kitchen area was severley glutened when he was washing up etc. I offered to do his cooking too but he declined although I hope to eventually do this too - this means risk is greatly reduced as I know if I touch gluten that I have to thoroughly wash up whereas like a previous comment said he doesn't give a s$#& (and I completely and utterly don't blame him, why should he really?!).

Maybe there is some truth to the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

I note the comments on sponges but I need to use them, I couldn't just use wipes, maybe I'll be convinced otherwise but until then I'll replace my sponges regularly and I already keep them separate so my flatmates dishes get washed with one set and mine another. I keep separate sponges for general cleaning surfaces just to be sure.

Will let you know how I get on, fingers crossed.

I know one thing, if I'm to get a girlfriend, she's going to have be unbelievably understanding.

[pricklypear1971]

Wear rubber gloves for cleaning - the big thick yellow ones for dishes.

And if you nuke your sponges (sponge not plastic ones) for 1 minute it may help kill gluten. Supposedly it needs to get around 500 farenheit to kill it.

[domesticactivist]

Wear rubber gloves for cleaning - the big thick yellow ones for dishes.

And if you nuke your sponges (sponge not plastic ones) for 1 minute it may help kill gluten. Supposedly it needs to get around 500 farenheit to kill it.

GLUTEN IS NOT DESTROYED BY THE MICROWAVE!!!! It is a protein, not a germ to kill. To denature it I've read over 600 degrees.

Use separate sponges and switch them out if you are afraid they've been contaminated.

[pricklypear1971]

GLUTEN IS NOT DESTROYED BY THE MICROWAVE!!!! It is a protein, not a germ to kill. To denature it I've read over 600 degrees.

Use separate sponges and switch them out if you are afraid they've been contaminated.

Some microwaves (and warnings on things like microwave popcorn) warn of temps of 500 degrees fahrenheit, or have settings to reach apx. 500. I have seen mentions of gluten being destroyed at 500+. I've never seen a study quoted for the exact temperature.

I never said it's a germ.

Soap and water appears to be the best solution. Personally, I keep a big pile of dish rags and change them out immediately if I clean up suspected gluten. I toss my

plastic scour sponge in the dishwasher.

I use Seventh Generation wipes on door handles, remotes, phones.

So far, so good as I can tell; however, mine is an extremely low gluten household.

[Marilyn R]

I personally don't like using sponges, but I use kitchen dish cloths kind of obsessively. I buy them when they're on sale, and use a clean one every day to wipe down kitchen surfaces before I cook or prepare food. If I wonder about how clean that cloth is when I come home to cook again (I live with Dennis the Menace), I grab another clean one. They don't take up much room in the laundry load, I just add them with jeans and towels and stuff. I squeeze them dry and let them air dry over the edge of my laundry hamper or something similar in my bedroom before adding them to the dirty clothes. I've found that it doesn't really matter if you fold them or not when your doing laundry (I'm not OCD about that...)