Using A Paper Cross Cut Shredder Safely
One thing that you should consider when buying and using a paper cross cut shredder is the safety aspect. After all, the cutting of paper does involve the use of sharp blades.
Children are a particular worry if you have shredder at home as their natural curiosity and oblivion to risk makes them particularly vulnerable. It should be made clear to any child that the shredder is a do not touch area like a cooker. For those with babies and toddlers then the cross cut shredder should be placed on a desk or table out of the reach of little fingers.
Luckily shredders tend to come with a variety of safety features to stop accidents from occurring. One of these is a safety lock to prevent the shredder being activated accidentally.
Other shredders rely on touch technology, which when turned on, can sense anything that touches the paper entry slot edges and will immediately stop the shredding process. This is useful as protection for your children and yourself as you feed in the paper.
Another factor is heat. Paper cross cut shredders generate a lot of heat while they are in action so that the average home or small business shredder can only be run for a few minutes at a time before it needs to be turned off and rested for awhile. Because of the amount heat generated you need to ensure that the shredder you choose has a thermal cut out device to automatically turn off the machine if it over heats, as paper and too much heat are not a good combination.
Despite the wonders of technology there's no denying that shredders have a tendency to jam so make sure you buy a shredder that allows you to unjam it without too much fuss. The usual option is a reverse button which will work in most cases. If the jam is very bad remember to switch the shredder off at the mains before fiddling with it.
As any cook will tell you, having a sharp blade is safer than having a blunt one. As a paper cross cut shredder has to work harder than a strip shredder this means that the blades can lose their edge more quickly. To avoid this you need to regularly apply shredder oil to the blades. This can be applied as oil or via oiled sheets or sachets. How often you do this depends on how much you use your machine.
As with applying oil to your paper cross cut shredder, you should always read the manufacturer's instructions thoroughly so that you know how to operate your machine safely.