I don't buy anything fancy, but I do spend more than $20 on a shredder. The higher-end ones carried by Sam's Club or BJ's are in the $60-70 range and will usually last me a couple of years of some pretty heavy shredding, particularly if I oil the cutters every now and then. As I said, I shred some heavy cardboard with mine so I consider a couple of years to have been a good buy. I'm not at all concerned about the security aspect, as I use mine solely for composting purposes.
I believe my paper shredder is serving its purpose even with the unclogging I have to do now and them. I even at this time think the clogging up of it is not just a result of this inexpensive shredder but also because I have waited so many years to shred to many things at one time. For ordinary daily things I actually think it will do just fine... but anytime you put something on "overload" it is bound to stress and have problems. I have no need for a higher priced shredder as I just have ordinary paperwork to shred and I certainly have enjoyed seeing those papers shredded up to where it would be really time consuming and difficult for anyone to go to the trouble of trying to piece those shreds back together to get my personal information. And anyway, since I have been using the Internet for many years whoever is interested in my info...probably already has it or can find it easier online. I'm going to lower my expectations here a little because really...when you buy the cheapest product that is for just normal wear and tear...you can't expect more from it than it was made for in the first place.
I don't know if Walmart still sells the shredder itself, minus the catcher/can, but that is what we bought. This is our 3rd one, but I've come to the point, like some of you, I don't shred every document we throw away. Hand-tear or just put in trash period. One time, I spent nearly three hours shredding things........no more of that! When our shredder gets to hot, it will automatically shut off, so the motor won't burn up. If there is a document in the shredder when that happens and I'll just leave the document and shredder alone til it cools off. If a document does get stuck, I'll put the thing in reverse and hope the doc will come out. Also, to keep the cutters lubricated, once in awhile I will spray some WD-40 across the cutters. Just one spray across. Let it sit for a couple of minutes than put a piece of paper in and shred. The paper will clean the WD-40 off of the cutters. Just a little thing I learned by doing some "shredder" research online.
For some reason it never occurred to me to lubricate the cutters. If I get another shredder, I'll have to remember that. I have a ton of paperwork I need to go through when I'm feeling better, and much, if not all of it will require shredding/burning or some other sort of destroying. By the way, Happy Belated Birthday @Babs Hunt.
I lubricate the cutting blades by adding a few drops of oil to a clean sheet of paper, then run that paper through the shredder. As it's shredding the paper, it's distributing the oil evenly.
@Ken Anderson, what kind of oil do you use? I have a lubricating oil in a spray can, but it has a really heavy petroleum type odor that activates my migraines. I'm sure there has to be some other type of oil I could get that would be odorless, or at least less offensive, but still do the job.
I use oil that's made for shredders but I think that another thin oil might work as well. I wouldn't use anything thick, as that might gum up the works. The oil I use is a liquid, made for shredders, costing about $5-6 for a small bottle that lasts a long time, since only a few drops are used at a time, and I only oil them about once a month or if it sounds like they need it.
Thanks, I had no idea they made them specifically for shredders. I know my mom and friend have had issues with their shredders gumming up/jamming as well, so I'll have to share that information with them.
When new, they're probably lubricated but that wears off after awhile. I think that's the secret to a long shredder life. When I do break one, it's often when I haven't lubricated it in a while.
I had one that jammed then starting smoking. the one i have now shreds paper, plastic cards and CD's. so far so good
A scissors works fine for me, for the few things that I have a need to destroy. I don't deal with enough paper to need a shredder.
I add a couple of inches of shredded paper and cardboard to whatever bag or box I am using for my compost each day, and if anything potentially stinky is deposited in the compost, I'll cover it with some more shredded paper. Still, we end up with more shredded paper than I need for that so I occasionally dump the contents of the shredder into the outdoor compost pile.