I don’t have to tell anyone how dangerous the blades of a paper shredder are. They move rapidly, which makes sense since their whole purpose is to “shred” things.
To ensure they don’t shred your fingers too during this, these machines pull paper from a distance. If your shredder is not pulling paper through though, that’s a whole other story I want to discuss today.
3 Answers To Why Your Shredder Is Not Pulling Paper Through
- The Tool Requires Lubrication
The blades on your paper shredder require regular maintenance. They get dull with time. If they’re too dull, that means they can’t shred as efficiently, which means the machine won’t pull in more paper.
So, dull blades might be why this is happening. As your tool has them, it’s hard for it to shred through paper. Since it isn’t shredding the paper it currently has, it’s not pulling more in.
Enough about the cause, though. It’s time for me to tell you about the fix! So, all you need is some vegetable-based oil for the blades inside the compartment I’m pointing at below.
Something I recommend a lot is using lubrication papers. These are loaded with oils safe for the shredder. When you shred them using the machine, it automatically applies those oils.
If you purchase and regularly use these types of papers, it’s a great way to easily maintain the blades inside. It’s what I personally do to lubricate the blades inside my paper shredder.
- Has The Device Been Overloaded?
When you put a lot of paper inside at once or keep using the machine consecutively without breaks, there’ll come a time when it just gives in. This is because of something called overloading.
The workload is too much for the shredder to handle, and it desperately needs a break. A lot of modern models deal with this by stopping all functions to force a rest for themselves.
Related: Shredder Not Turning on And Not Shredding
Look at this picture above. This was all the junk I got out from inside of a paper shredder, and I don’t mean it’s bin. Prevent something like happening to your shredder too.
Don’t make it work too much without a break, and remember to regularly clean leftover scraps inside so that it doesn’t build up and overload the tool.
Open the covers and get rid of any jamming or debris inside the device to stop the overloading. If not, this may cause your paper shredder to stop working and you may also see a red light indicating that it’s already jammed.
Then, put the covers back on and leave the device unplugged for a while before using it again so that it works again. Just remember the tips I’ve already told you on this troubleshooting guide to avoid this happening in the future!
- Clean Around The Sensor
Have you ever wondered what makes the paper shredder pull paper through? Well, there’s actually a sensor above the blades that spots paper or other objects you insert and then pulls them inside.
If this sensor isn’t working like it should, your shredder doesn’t know it’s time to start pulling. So, it could be that the sensor can’t see what you’re inserting, hence why you’re facing this problem.
Some of the paper that you were shredding could have jumped upward and blocked the area around the sensor. Dirt and other types of debris can also cause something along these lines.
Similar to the last solution, you need to open the covers of the tool. Take a good look inside and clean around the sensor and blades so there aren’t obstructions with the pulling mechanism.
It’s very important to keep the sensor and the areas around it free from any obstructions because if not, it would also cause other functions like the auto feed feature not to work properly.
That will be enough to get your paper shredder pulling paper through again since the sensor should have a free line of sight toward the things you’re inserting!
