Just as you would never imagine (or shouldn't)
running your car for 20,000 miles without changing the oil, you
shouldn't imagine running your shredder without providing it with the
oil that you need. Many people don't realize that this is a necessity and thus
don't oil their shredding machines. However, these individuals probably
don't realize that their machines aren't operating at full capacity and
will eventually need replacement if they don't starting oiling them.
Just as you would never imagine (or shouldn't)
running your car for 20,000 miles without changing the oil, you
shouldn't imagine running your shredder without providing it with the
oil that you need. In order to keep the cutting wheels and cutting head
working efficiently, every shredder needs to be oiled on a consistent
basis. Many people don't realize that this is a necessity and thus
don't oil their shredding machines. However, these individuals probably
don't realize that their machines aren't operating at full capacity and
will eventually need replacement if they don't starting oiling them.
Every time you shred a piece of paper with your shredder it produces a
small amount of paper dust. Over time, this paper dust collects on the
shredding head and cutting wheels of your machine making it much more
difficult for it to shred documents. If nothing is done about this
problem, your shredding-machine will have to work harder and harder to
shred less and less paper. This leads to frustration on the part of the
end user and if left unchecked will eventually result in the burnout of
your motor. However, consistent oiling of your shredder can easily fix
this problem.
The good news is, shredding oil is very
inexpensive and is simple to apply. In fact, you don't need to take
your shredder apart to apply oil. Simply take your bottle of shredder
oil and apply several beads of oil to a piece of paper and feed it
through the paper slot just like a document that needs to be shredded.
As that piece of paper coated with shredder oil is being cut by the
cutting heads of your machine the shredding heads will be lubricated
and the effects of the buildup of paper dust will be eliminated. Your
shredder will be ready to run at full capacity and motor won't have to
work as hard to shred your documents.
It is recommended that
you oil your cross cut or confetti cut shredder after every 1/2 hour of
shredding. Strip cut models should be oiled after every 1 hour of
shredding. It is also important to use a specially formulated,
synthetic, non flammable shredding oil such as the GBC Shredmaster
Shredding Oil or MBM Destroyit Oil. These oils are specifically
designed to help increase shredding performance and prolong the life of
your shredder.
If you remember to regularly oil your shredder
and are careful not to shred things that you aren't supposed to most
large shredders are designed to last for years or even decades. Happy
oiling and happy shredding...
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written several articles on shredders, shredding supplies,binding
machines,binding supplies,laminators,laminating supplies,binding
covers,paper handling equipments,binders,index tabs and more.
