Things to Remember When Shredding

Your shredder is a vital asset to your home and office, but for those who don’t use them regularly there are a number of problems that could occur. Here are a few things to remember when shredding to make sure you don’t have any unnecessary problems.

Paper Only

Shredders can be quite sensitive things and are only designed for paper based products. Staples, paper clips and other foreign objects will only hinder performance and cause potential damage, so make sure that you are only feeding paper into your shredder.

Sifting through an accumulated pile of paper for rogue staples is never going to be an enjoyable task. Make sure that you remove all staples and paper clips as you add your paper to your shredding pile. That way when it comes to the actual shredding process you can get straight to it without a second though.

Watch the Quantity

All shredders will have a maximum load of paper which they can shred at one time. Remember that this is a limit, and not a target, so don’t feel that you have to systematically count 20 sheets of paper each time, or whatever the case may be.

Be sure not to overload your shredder either. The manufacturers have given that limit for a reason, so don’t try to push it any further. If you need a high volume shredder then look into office shredders. These models will boast a higher maximum, meaning that you can shred more at one time.

Think about Thickness

Another consideration you should make when shredding is the thickness of the paper you are inputting. Paper shredders, as the name suggests, are predominantly designed to cope with standard thickness paper. Remember that your maximum feed amount will be based on standard paper so putting 20 sheets of card in at once is not going to work.

When shredding thick materials make sure you check with the shredder’s documentation to ensure it is able to cope. Do not try and feed pieces of cardboard box or other very thick materials into your shredder as this will only cause damage and further problems.

Exercise Caution

It is important to remember at all times that shredders can be dangerous. While safety measures are taken during the manufacturing process you should still exercise caution and take care when operating your shredder.

Make sure that you place your shredder on a flat, stable surface. Keep the shredder away from children and pets and do not leave it unattended whilst in use. In the event that paper is jammed in the shredder make sure that you turn it off and unplug it before carefully trying to remove the jam, and never place your hands or clothing into the shredder.

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