How Much Acommodation Should We Expect?

[Irishgirl76]

So my sweet, wonderful sister wants to make her home as safe as possible for my daughter (and for me also, I suppose!). She says she does not want me to worry when I'm there. She is gluten-free by choice (not Celiac but sensitive to gluten), and is encouraging the rest of her family to do the same, for health reasons (her hubby & 3 teenaged daughters). As an aside, her hubby (who is also awesome) is overweight and diabetic. He proudly told me today that in one week of gluten-free he has lost 10 pounds and already feels immensely better. Yaay! So they will slowly be transitioning their home to gluten-free, but as we all know, there is a diff b/w gluten-free and Celiac safe. She put together a nice kit with a new cutting board, utensils, toaster, etc, all clearly labeled "gluten-free" and that get stored away when not in use. Today I asked her if she was aware that the gluten-free stuff would need to be washed separately from the non-gluten-free stuff (I'd hate for her to have spent $ on that stuff only to contaminate it by accident). I felt bad asking but thought if she went to that much trouble I should tell her. She said she took no offense and that I should tell her about anything like that, as she is still learning.

So... not sure what else I should point out to her. Today she asked me what kind of dish soap would be safe. I don't want to seem nitpicky about stuff but she seems to really want her home to be totally safe for us. What about things like bathroom hand soap? Washing down previously gluteny surfaces? I'm very new to this myself so just getting my home Celiac safe has been a huge undertaking. It seems like such a burden for someone else to do it who doesn't even have Celiac.

I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful sister and don't want to nitpick but she does genuinely seem to want to know what she needs to do. Also, any ideas as to how I can show her my gratitude? She doesn't like gifts so it would have to be some other gesture.

Thanks!

Alissa

[Marilyn R]

Hi Alissa, and welcome to the forum! You are blessed to have a sister that loves you so much and wants to accommodate your dietary restrictions.

I use Palmolive Dishwasing detergent without problem, Cascade in the dishwasher (those little cubes, or a generic store version of them. For the bathroom, Vanicream soap (available at WalGreen's is great, (only available in bar form though) and the lotion is superb. (I'm assuming you live in USA..not sure.)

I had to travel unexpectedly shortly after I went gluten-free and stayed with my brother and SIL. They're not gluten-free. We worked it out and I didn't get sick. The trip involved a family tragedy and it wasn't about me, but we figured out that their George Foreman Grill was completely gluten-free. Give me a piece of protein cooked on a grill and I'm happy! SIL made baked potatoes in the oven. If they grilled, my food went in a aluminum foil packet.

My brother picked me up from the airport and we went to the grocery store together. I had a little stash of stuff.

Sometime's I would just have an avacodo for a snack. I bought safe peanut butter and some apples and bananas and rice cakes for breakfast or snacks.

I think you're in good hands. And I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry if your sister washes glutened items along with non-gluten-free items, especially if she tosses them in the dishwasher.

The one request I'd make is that she clean out or replace her silverware and/or utensil holder. Toast crumbs are sneaky! If someone left the silverware drawer open while they were toasting they're bread, some of those crumbs are probably in there. Alternatively, you can wash the utensils you and dd are going to use.

As for a gift, I love Nutsonline.com. I'd send her a gift pack after the trip, you can customize the card, but you could say something like "Sorry if I drove you nuts, thanks for everything, love you to bits, P.S. The nuts are gluten-free!" (Just pick from their gluten-free menu.)

Their nuts are so delicious. If she gets huffy about you sending her a gift, you can tell her that you sent them so she has a new source for gluten-free items (they sell gluten-free flours too).

[cyberprof]

It's nice that your sister is so thoughtful and good that her hubby is seeing benefits from gluten-free too.

Most of the time, my house is gluten-free (kids at college) but I do occasionally have gluten in the house when DD comes home from school. I don't allow gluten on my cutting boards, teflon skillets, in the tupperware etc and I have separate gluten implements and gluten-free implements (e.g. all my gluten-appropriate implements like pancake flippers, spatulas etc are green colored so that they are noticably different). But I wash them all together, usually in the dishwasher. I don't get any gluten pieces or chunks in the dishwasher (I pre-wash) and am very careful about throwing leftovers down the sink. When I wash up gluten plates (only 8-10 times a year) I don't use my scrubber or sponge, just a disposable towel or paper towel.

I think that the general consensus here is that gluten doesn't stick to glass or stainless steel or china. Those things are fine to be used with gluten as long as they are properly washed.

I've never heard of a dish soap or dishwasher detergent that had gluten in it...has anyone?

For handsoap, there are some that had gluten in them but most of the SoftSoap varieties are gluten-free.

So, I think as long as your sister has gluten-free cutting boards, colanders etc. that is as good as you need to be.

I'm pretty sensitive and haven't gotten sick at home in years.

[sa1937]

Welcome, Alissa! You do have a wonderful sister to be so thoughtful. You've already gotten some good advice from Marilyn and cyberprof.

I would add that I like Dawn dishwashing detergent and SoftSoap at the sinks and in my shower...both are easy to find and are not expensive.

I do wash my metal baking pans by hand as some of them can rust if they're coated metal. And I also prewash a lot of other things so I can run a shorter dishwasher cycle. Guess that's just a habit I got into many years ago.

[Irishgirl76]

Thanks, guys. I found a sneaky way to give her a gift. When I was out shopping for new kitchen stuff I was looking to replace my baking stone (I used that thing for EVERYTHING!!). I was looking for a square one but the first store I went to only had round ones, so I bought it. Then I stopped at another store and found a square one, but didn't have time to replace the first. My sister stopped by the next day and lamented about having to replace her pizza stone (she is also a lover of stonewear), and I handed her the one I'd bought at the first store, saying it would be too much trouble to return it. She argued with me for a few minutes but finally caved and took it. lol.

[cap6]

I run both gluten & gluten free through the dishwasher together with no problem, however I use the pots & pans cycle so it has several rinses. Don't know if that is necessary but it makes me feel safer.

[Irishgirl76]

I was thinking more along the lines of the wooden cutting board, wooden spoons etc. Because they're porous and since we can't use a cutting board previously used for gluten I assumed that washing them in a sink with gluteny stuff (or with a gluteny cloth) was probably not a good idea?

[mushroom]

I was thinking more along the lines of the wooden cutting board, wooden spoons etc. Because they're porous and since we can't use a cutting board previously used for gluten I assumed that washing them in a sink with gluteny stuff (or with a gluteny cloth) was probably not a good idea?

Agree! Probably not a good idea.

[cap6]

I was thinking more along the lines of the wooden cutting board, wooden spoons etc. Because they're porous and since we can't use a cutting board previously used for gluten I assumed that washing them in a sink with gluteny stuff (or with a gluteny cloth) was probably not a good idea?

ok, nope not a good idea!

[come dance with me]

My mum bought a second toaster for dd, bought a new set of cutting boards and wooden spoons, and has a frying pan just for her. She washes the gluten free things under running hot water using one of those wand or stick scrubbers where you fill it with dishwashing liquid. Nothing else is washed with this. My mum's house is almost fully gluten-free anyway apart from the bread she uses but she only uses it on the small bench that her toaster is on. No accidental glutening in a year now. I think it makes life easier when people do things like this for us, but when we visit other people I take everything so dd doesn't eat from the same bowls. I have foil containers with lids that can go in the oven and have a freezer full of ready made meals, then take plastic forks. I take containers for sandwiches and snacks, and plastic bowls and spoons for her cereal. She only has toast here or my mum's house.