How to Remove Jammed Paper from Shredder?

The paper shredder remains a practical tool to use at home or the office. Whether you use it to shred documents, digital data, or credit cards, you may find it jams occasionally.

In turn, this causes delays and frustrations as you want to get the job done. Now do not get alarmed and work yourself up, as it is not difficult to remove jammed paper from the shredder.

In most cases, using the reverse switch and pulling the article towards you helps to free the problem. If all fails, you can look at some of the other methods here.

Removing Jammed Paper from the Shredder

Full waste bins, overloading paper, and occasional oiling can lead to jammed paper in the shredder. In most cases, these jams you can clear without sending the machine in for repairs.

First Step

Once a paper jam happens, switch the machine into reverse and start pulling gently at the paper towards you to remove the obstruction. If you cannot see any visible particles causing obstruction, use the forward and reverse a couple of time to help dislodge the jams.

Second Step

If the above technique does not work, the next steps to use shredder oil. Use enough to grease the blade by squirting it through the paper slot and leave it for up to 15-minutes. The oil helps to soften the paper to move freely through the cutting knives.

Third Step

The method used here is if everything else fails to work. Remove the plug from the wall and lift the head from the wastebasket. Turn it upside down on a piece of newspaper allowing you access to the blades.

Take a pair of tweezers, or you can use needle-nosed pliers to remove the particles causing the obstruction. For clearing paper jams caused by plastic or metal, this is the best method to follow.

Once the obstacles removed, place the head back on the bin and plug it in. Switch the machine on allowing the blades to move freely.

Take two pieces of paper and place it through the feeding slot to remove excess particles still in the blade. If you have not oiled the cutting knives, yet you can apply vegetable oil to the paper using an x-pattern and shred it through the machine.

Once done, use the reverse mode for up to a minute to smear the oil through the blades.

Always Unplug the Shredder

For safety always make sure the machine is unplugged when removing jammed paper manually. We recommend removing the shredder head to remove blocked particles in the blades as it is the easiest way to gain access to it.

While the blade assembly is, upside down and still find removing the particles difficult, you can pour shredder oil on the cutting knives and leave it up to half-an-hour for the paper to soften.

For removing plastic and metal, the best is to use needle-nose pliers instead of a tweezer.

Final Thoughts

In worst-case scenarios, if all else fails, we recommend you send the shredder in for a service. The likeliness is that a service provider can remove the jammed paper and replace the parts if needed. However, we hope the solutions available help to solve the problem at hand.