Shredder Problem
 

I have a cross-cut shredder that has developed issue. Before, when I put paper in it would shred it and then shut off by itself. Now, even after it has finished shredding the paper it keeps running. So I have to manually shut it off.

Last night the shredder was set to auto and I was in the other room it turned on by itself with nothing in it.

I've looked, but don't see any paper stuck inside so I'm wondering if any here know of a simple fix?

I would suggest you buy a package of lubrication sheets at Staples. You just run them through the shredder and they lubricate it. If the shredder keeps running after it is empty, it sounds like the sensor is dirty and needs to be cleaned. If that doesn't work, and you can't find a clog, it may be time to buy a new shredder. Shredders usually break down because of too much paper being put in to them.

Or buy a bottle of lubricating oil and put it on your next sheets you shred. Less expensive and lasts longer...going on year two with my current bottle and I lubricate once a month.

I had a similar problem with my cross cut shredder, and it turned out there was a small piece of paper jamming the switch for the AutoStart which kept the shredder running. After unplugging the unit, I was able to use a bent paperclip to remove the paper, and it has worked fine for over 2 years. hope this helps.

Ghostbusters?

I would use lubricating oil.

They do not last that long, we are currently on our third shredder and we buy heavy duty ones.

Wrong reference? I'm certain that Shredder related to TMNT not Ghostbusters.

Where would I find the sensor?

What type of oil? Is it made just for shredders?

This is a two piece shredder. Meaning to empty the bin, you unplug is and lift odd the motor part.

So I lifted it off and plugged it in and with a toothpick pressed the saftey switch so I could see the rollers turning. The is nothing blocking it.

So, I have a can of this stuff Blaster silicone spray lubricant.
Woud this be okay to try?? Or would this make matters worse?

Robot Check

Here is a video that shows how to clean the sensor with a straw. I don't know if it applies to your shredder.

How to Fix a Paper Shredder that won't STOP - YouTube

There is an actuator switch dead center in the slot where you insert whatever you are shredding. If you can take out the bin that collects the shreddings see if there is some debris caught in line with that switch I mentioned. If you shredded a plastic package or a credit card and then experienced this problem it is in fact due to that switch still being in the open position.

Use a small amount of Wesson Oil to lubricate your shredder. Just make sure you have paper in the bin when you add the oil. Don't add the oil where the switch is. It works and I've been doing it for years.

If you don't feel like doing the first part just keep running paper through and it may clear itself. If it wasn't for the current conditions I'd fix the shredder in a Jiffy!

I almost wiped out my Fellowes Shredder by mistakenly trying to shred a Apple Credit card that had been opened when it was shipped to me. One small problemo. It's made out of Titanium. Good Luck with your repair.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who thought of TMNT.

Save your money on a new shredder and take your 50lbs of paper to Staples, which you can put into a secure shredding bin, for 99 cents per pound. . . . Unless you are generating over 100 lbs per year, a shredder purchase is not necessary

But as a finance guy, I did feel very weird throwing out checks from 1980 to 2010, and tax returns for the same time period at Staples. Felt very weird. . .

sportsguy

Thanks, Problem Solved!
 

Thanks to all but Retired Guy & Village Tinker had the answer.
I found the tiny glass sensor that is in the middle of the paper insertion slot. It's so small I needed my flashlight to find it.

I took a Q-tip and sprayed one end with Windex. Then I wiped the wet end over the tiny glass sensor (it barely fit in there). Then I did the same thing with the dry end of the Q-tip.

SUCCESS!!! Thanks to you all for saving a perfectly good shredder.

My house is ghost free. :a040:

Staples has a "free 5 lbs of shredding" coupon now. Just go here and scroll down the page. You need to print it, btw. Apparently phone scans won't be accepted:

Staples Coupons

This thread and its successful ending totally made my morning. :coolsmiley::clap2:

I would feel uncomfortable about having sensitive documents shredded at Staples, unless I could see the documents being shredded, and knowing that the shredder was a cross-shredder. Some shredders have very large pieces in the output that could be reassembled much easier than tiny pieces.

If you end up needing to replace the shredder, I recommend buying the replacement shredder at Costco. Make sure to save the receipt in a place where is not lost or thrown away. I bought shredders from OfficeMax wore out in a little over a year, and had to keep buying new shredders at OfficeMax. The shredder I bought from Costco lasted almost two years, and Costco replaced it for free.

I bought a Fujitsu IX-500 scanner to scan all my documents, statements, and receipts. I also scanned hundreds of magazines and books. The scanner can scan one sheet at a time or a stack of 50 double sided sheets. It’s like a printer in reverse. I store the scanned documents, statements, receipts, magazines, and books on my MacBook and a copy in the encrypted cloud. I removed boxes of paper and many bookshelves of paper from my life. The unbound magazines and books filled up my recycling dumpster several times. I ran boxes and boxes of documents, statements, and receipts through my shredder.

That decluttered my life of a lot of paper. I keep a few documents, statements, receipts, magazines, and books in the original paper form. I learned about digitalizing the clutter of paper from your life on YouTube videos. Most of the paper, from the books and magazines were directly recycled, but there were many boxes of paper that needed to be shredded. You also need to let the shredder cool down after about 5 to 10 minutes of shredding.

Decades ago, I shredded old paper work and boxes of tractor feed paper printouts through an industrial sized shredder, which was the size of a washing machine. That shredder could shred many layers of paper for hours, non-stop. The corporation had to shred old documents and records that were older than a certain date. In the corporate world, it’s possible to have a court ordered discovery. If you keep too much data on paper or digitally, the court ordered discovery can bankrupt even a large corporation, if you save all documents, paper and digital, forever.

My suggestion: Unless you're working for the CIA buy a new cheap shredder or simply live with the problem. I had a similar problem. My Fellowes DM15C would shut off after about 3-5 seconds of shredding. The bin full light came on. You would have to shut it off and turn it back on to shred once piece of paper. So, to shred say 10 items separately you would have to turn it off and then back on 20 times. Really frustrating. I did my research. Took it apart a few times. Cleaned everything. No success. I spent hours on it. Finally I found a solution that kept it on. So, now when I shred I turn it on (it doesn't go off automatically after shredding) I shred what I want to shred then I turn it back off. Not the perfect solution but it sure as heck was better than what is was doing before. Your problem - maybe it's a blocked or dirty sensor. Maybe it's a bad sensor which you could replace ($) or maybe it's the motherboard which is complicated to replace but can be done ($$$). So, turn it on when you want to shred and off when you're done or buy a new cheap shredder. Or spend a lot of frustrating time trying to fix it. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe not.

Shredder Oil
 

You can buy oil for shredders at any office supply store. I have read that you can also use canola oil, works just as well and is much cheaper. You just put it on a piece of paper and run it through the shredder. If you shred a lot of paper, oil it about once every 250 sheets of paper. Simple and an easy way to maintain your shredder. Hope this helps.

DO NOT use any aerosol lubricant like the silicon spray you mention, WD 40 or even ca
 

DO NOT use any aerosol lubricant like the silicon spray you mention, WD 40 or even canned air. This could cause the residual gas to ignite and result in damage to the shredder and possibly personal injury. Use a liquid lubricant designed for shredders which can be found at any office supply or department store.

I've had the same problem with my cross cut shredder after I shredded name labels. Apparently, some of the gummed labels got stuck someplace in there and affected the automatic shut off. No big deal to stand there and manually shut it off.

Careful not to use spray oil on the blades while running!!!!
I did and blew mine up. The oil is fine but when in spray mist it is very combustable.