Paper shredders are widely used in offices to shred classified and other important documents which cannot be stored. In order to maintain the optimum performance of the shredder, it needs to be lubricated properly. The lubricant used must be compatible with the shredder. Thus, a shredder lubricant designed for the particular type of shredder you are using must be purchased.
3 methods of properly lubricating a paper shredder have been discussed here.
Direct Method
The direct method means the lubricant is directly applied to the blades of the paper shredder. First, you need to get a manufacturer-approved lubricant for your home paper shredder and follow the below-mentioned steps.
- Set the paper shredder to manual mode to control the direction of the rotating blades and the time of shredding.
- Pour the lubricant through a narrow spout in a line across the length of the entry place of the papers. This method helps the lubricant in covering all the blades of the shredder.
- Turn on the paper shredder and run the blades in the reverse direction. Keep the blades running for 10-20 seconds and then switch off the shredder. This method distributes the lubricant along with the blades evenly.
- Switch to automatic mode and start the shredder. Do not put any paper but allow the shredder to run for 30 seconds.
- Now pass 2-3 papers through the shredder so that the papers absorb excess lubricant present on the blades.
Paper Method
The paper method can either be a single paper method or paper sandwich method. Both methods have been mentioned here.
Place a single A4 size sheet of paper on a surface. Now take a manufacturer-approved lubricant with a spout on the bottle’s opening. Squirt the lubricant on the paper in a zigzag pattern. Put the lubricant only over a single face of the paper. The zigzag pattern made by the lubricant must extend to all the sides of the paper so that the entire face of the paper is covered with the lubricant. Avoid excess lubricant. Now shred this paper using the paper shredder. The blades coat the blades as the paper is shredded.
In the sandwich method, two A4 size papers are required. Pour the lubricant in two lines on one face of an A4 sheet to make a cross. Allow the lubricant to be absorbed into the paper and then place the second A4 sheet over the lubricated face of the first A4 sheet. Run the shredder in reverse mode for 10 seconds. Thereafter, pass the paper sandwich through the shredder to shred it. Finally, run the shredder in reverse mode for 10 seconds again to properly lubricate the blades.
Lubricant Sheet
Lubricant or Oil sheet is an envelope enclosing a lubricated sheet inside it. Such sheets are widely available in the market. Turn the shredder on and run it in reverse mode. Thereafter, set the shredder to normal mode and shred the lubricant sheet by passing it through the shredder. Run the shredder in reverse mode again to properly lubricate the blades.
