What Should Never Go Into a Shredder

Most shredder failures are caused by something that should not have gone in.

The usual culprits

Adhesive labels and sticky notes, laminated sheets, glossy card, wet paper, and bulldog clips. Staples and paperclips are accepted by some machines and not others — check rather than assume.

Why adhesive is worse than metal

Glue transfers onto the cutting heads and stays there, collecting dust until the mechanism binds. It is a slow failure that is difficult to reverse.

Whole envelopes

Envelopes with plastic address windows, padding or reinforcement are several materials at once and a common jam.

If it jams

Switch to reverse if the machine has it, and switch off at the socket before going near the opening. Never try to clear a jam by hand with the machine live.