Jeff McRitchie

Think You Don't Need a Shredder? Think Again

With identity theft ever on the rise, no home can afford to be without a paper shredder. Identity thieves are both persistent and creative and they have no qualms about going through your trash to get what they need.

What can you do to protect yourself and your confidential documents? Well, if you have been avoiding buying a personal paper shredder because you don't know what to look for, you should probably get over that right now. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for when you are shopping shredders.

Shred Pattern:

When it comes to shredders there are really two different kinds: the kind that cuts documents into several long strips (known as strip-cut shredders), and the kind that cuts them into confetti-like shreds (known as cross cut shredding). For shredding confidential documents which could prove damaging were they to fall into the wrong hands - such items as bank statements, junk credit card offers, credit card statements, and tax records, we really can't recommend that you use anything but a cross cut shredder that is rated at a Security Level of 3. If you can't find the security level on the box, or your salesman doesn't know, you can pretty much rest assured that most any cross cut shredder is a Level 3. Just to be safe though, the particle measurements listed on the machine you are shopping should be no larger than one-quarter inch by an eighth of an inch.

There are shredders that have Security Levels up to 6 (for top-secret government documents), and you may have your reasons for considering a Level 4 or 5 machine, but for the purposes of a home shredder, in the majority of cases, Level 3 should be plenty.

Sheet Capacity:

For the purposes of a small office or home use machine, you should expect to be able to find a cross cut shredder that can handle from 6-8 sheets at a time with no problem. There are a few other features you might want to keep an eye out for, such as the ability for your machine to handle paper clips and staples, a reverse function to help in preventing paper jams, and an automatic on and off function that turns the shredder on when paper is placed in the feed, and turns it off again when the job is done.

The key to personal shredding and to working with the lower capacities you will find in the smaller machines is to shred daily, or on an as needed basis, rather than letting your papers pile up and trying to shred them all at one time. Smaller shredders have smaller motors and thus they are more prone to overheating if overused. Your shredder should come with usage recommendations so you can keep within the correct range for your machine.

Maintenance:

The cutting heads of shredders need to be oiled on a periodic basis. There are several ways to do this, but the best is probably to squirt a zigzag pattern of shredder oil onto a normal piece of paper and run it though the shredder, then hit reverse for half a minute or so.

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