Oil sheets or paper drizzled with paper shredder oil ensure that the blades and rollers of the paper shredder are well lubricated and that paper jams are avoided. Because the more paper you chase through the shredder folder by folder, the drier and more prone to getting stuck snippets the cutting tool becomes. You can read below what brought me to oil leaves and the special oil for shredding office equipment. Of course, I've also picked out an example of the accessories for you. And you will learn why you shouldn't use a WD40;)
Clogged paper shredder? Oil or oil leaves help against paper jams!
During the - hopefully last - move I once again fell into my hands with boxes of files from 2004 and the surrounding area. After experience has shown that there is always too little space, I set about using my paper shredder to decimate the ridiculous amount of paper. Unfortunately, after a folder there have always been more and more snippets of paper stuck, which arise because the rollers in the document shredder cannot separate from the paper. You pull the finished snippets back in and the paper shredder becomes clogged at some point. Of course, at some point this is no longer funny.
After that became too colorful for me at some point and I couldn't explain why it happened more and more often, I went on a search and found out that the shredder simply lacks the necessary “lubrication”. With each piece of paper, some of the oil that was between the rollers also goes away. If you want to re-grease, you should never use normal chain oil, machine oil or WD40, as these cannot withstand the high temperatures and can start to burn. Either you oil the rollers with special oil for document shredders or - and this is my tip - you use special ones sheets of paper impregnated with oilthat are shredded in the paper shredder from time to time.
Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.
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7 comments on “Tip: oil leaves against clogged shredders”
Jörg
Very good tip! Didn't even know that there was such a thing at all.
I bought the Amazon leaves a good two years ago, three years ago already a special oil. In theory, the oil is cheaper. However, the leaves from Amazon are much easier to use and serve their purpose. I can only recommend them. Shredding is a lot easier!
It's much easier with the oil: spread it across the slot before you start shredding. Then the oil is distributed evenly. So it's not that bad. But now I have the box with the leaves on the shelf and now and then I run through one.
I only use gun oil for stuff like that. These are very high-quality oils that are extremely durable and heat-resistant and do not resinify. There's everywhere where there are firearms, even without a gun license. ;)
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Very good tip! Didn't even know that there was such a thing at all.
Yes, I felt the same way. Was a great find. : D And it makes technical sense that such a device needs oil. ;-)
I bought the Amazon leaves a good two years ago, three years ago already a special oil. In theory, the oil is cheaper. However, the leaves from Amazon are much easier to use and serve their purpose. I can only recommend them. Shredding is a lot easier!
Yes, you could probably make the leaves yourself with the oil and paper. But at the price and the mess. No thanks! : D
It's much easier with the oil: spread it across the slot before you start shredding. Then the oil is distributed evenly. So it's not that bad. But now I have the box with the leaves on the shelf and now and then I run through one.
I only use gun oil for stuff like that. These are very high-quality oils that are extremely durable and heat-resistant and do not resinify. There's everywhere where there are firearms, even without a gun license. ;)
Also a good idea. It's probably technically the same, but if you write "document shredder oil" on it, you can take a 100% surcharge directly. 😂