Top 10 Best Paper Shredders For Home Use 2022 For You To Buy

This is s preliminary review, and I will update it after I have used this shredder for a few months. (But so far so good)== ADDENDUM added after about 4-1/2 years of use. ==Context: Until recently I was using not just this shredder (in my home office) along with another one of the same model (at my ‘office’ office}. And with only one exception there have been no problems at all. Both shredders are still working perfectly BUT with one possibly-significant issue (NOTE: I don’t have my old job any more, so I called a friend at my old office someone to verify that fact about the one in that office). The one in my home office gets light-to-medium use (and may sit idle for weeks at a time), while the other gets moderte-o-heavy use and is shared by about 4 people.Both have suffered the same failure.The wheels themselves are fine, BUT the casework which holds them in place fails pretty easily.Now I do NOT know what the type of floor on which this shredder is designed sit. In my home office I have short-pile (about 2cm or 3/4in deep) while the office is on a very-short nap berber carpeting) and the same problem has occurred on both floors.On my shredder at home, after about 2 years of, the right rear wheel suddenly “fell out” when i was rolling the shredder from one side of my desk to the other. The shredder had never been dropped, rolled over “curbs” (i.e., electrical cords, cables, large dogs, etc.) or the like, and there was no damage that could be seen until this failure occurred. When the wheel fell out, some bits of plastic fell out with it and I presume they had been whatever construct was used to keep the wheel in its socket. I jury-rigged a ‘fix’ with some plastic in with hot glue and continued to use the shredder. But about a year later, the OTHER back wheel did exactly the same thing. Again I could find no apparent cause, but this time, bigger bits of plastic came out along with it, and the hot-glue trick didn’t work. (Yesterday I made a wheeled undercarriage for it and it rolls much more smoothly than it had ever done previously.)(The shredder at my old office lost one of its rear wheels as well, but I don’t have any other information about it.)Doing a post-mortem examination of both of the wheels which broke off showed a significant accumulation of dog hair in both of them (and I checked: the wheels which did NOT break off have just as much dog hair in them.). I have large Airedale terriers and they do shed — and their undercoats are extremely tough and wiry. I suspect that the broken-off wheels had simply stopped rolling and that sliding the shredder across the carpet most likely generated sufficient lateral force on the mounts to cause them to break. Or that’s my $0.02 worth on that matter anyway.So I’ll ding the review by one star, and everything else about it is still great. And unless you need to move the device more often than “just on rare occasions,” I will still give it my otherwise-unqualified recommendation.== ORIGINAL (INITIAL) REVIEW BELOW ==I have a six-year-old Fellowes SB89Ci which was working perfectly in my very busy home office UNTIL somebody (family) put an envelope through it containing coins, and then used the forward/back buttons to ‘clear the jam’, ultimately breaking several of the plastic “sweepers” (those white plastic things which among other things separate the blades in the cutter head and also clear paper shards as they try to wrap themselves around the cutter head). As a result, the cutter head now jams frequently and needs serious repair (it still shreds fine – except for a 5-inch gap in the middle). I contacted Fellowes and the model is no longer made AND there are no repair parts available. (Sigh) I did find two different shops who said they could probably repair it, but using one of them would cost me shipping in both directions PLUS the cost of the repair. And the sum of those exceeds the cost of this shredder.I was EXTREMELY happy with my old shredder and after looking at about a dozen others I “settled on” this one without hesitation. Of course before actually ordering it I read a huge number of reviews of this shredder, and as I prefer to “see it before I buy it” I visited several local office supply stores. However, as it turned out none of them had one in stock to examine, and consequently I ordered this one without my usual pre-purchase inspection. (OK, so I’m extremely careful about anything like this which I buy with the intention of using for several years…)But after I had ordered it I continued reading even more reviews (here and on many sites) and there was one thing in particular which worried me. Multiple reviewers complained about the collection basket, and at least two of them claimed that it was made out of cardboard. (Fortunately those two were incorrect.)So as soon as it arrived, I opened the box (which showed no damage) and on inspection I decided that the box must have received some rough handling from the USPS who delivered it. The reason behind my decision was that the head had somehow detached from the body of the shredder. However (and fortunately) after a quick inspection there was no obvious damage, and the two pieces snapped back together just fine.Then I examined the collection bin and had to laugh. It is made of the same corrugated plastic as the mail tubs used at my office (and the USPS, too IIRC – albeit without their steel rod frame), and it is of a somewhat lighter gauge. But with normal use it should work well in its intended purpose. Also it is a MAJOR improvement over that in my old 89Ci which had a number of sharp protrusions which often caught and tore the collection bags when I tried to remove them. This one does NOT have anything protruding into the collection bin and bags should not catch (or tear) on it.(On the subject of collection bags, where I live shredded papers which are NOT in transparent bags are frequently not picked up by the recycling truck on “trash day” and I have been using clear, (unbranded) 13-gallon drawstring garbage bags which are more than a little ‘over-sized’ for this shredder (or my old 89Ci) but which work just fine and cost about $0.125 each in quantity. Amazon has several similar to them – search for “clear drawstring 13-gallon trash bags.”) [That size is *especially* useful at tax time, as that’s also when I get rid of paperwork which I no longer have to retain: I fill up the first bag and put a new one in the shredder; that one fills up quickly and I dump its contents into the first bag and put it back in the shredder, AND and when that one is full, its contents go into that first bag as well and it’s ready for the recycling bin. So at tax time my cost per bag drops from $0.125 to a mere $0.041+, or next to nothing.I will be going over it VERY carefully in the next day or so just to make sure that there was no other problem from its being jarred in shipping (and if there is any, I will be doing an exchange to get another). But so far it looks good, and I have already shredded a pile of office papers and accounting records over a foot high, and at this point the 99Ci is so much better than my old shredder that I am EXTREMELY happy with it.So far the shredder behaves exactly as it’s supposed to and I’m a happy camper. My only minor complaint is that the paper is just a littler harder to get into the slot than it was on my old 89Ci as this one is “thinner” (same width though). But then, had the slot on my old shredder been like the one on this 99Ci, nobody would have been able to put an envelope containing several coins into the shredder, so maybe this is a worthwhile improvement.Based on my previous experience with the 89Ci (and a couple of other Fellowes shredders at my office) and my initial experience with this one, I would not hesitate to recommend it to family, friends, and co-workers.(REMINDER: MY CAVEAT STILL STANDS THAT I WILL UPDATE THIS REVIEW IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS WHEN I HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO USE IT EXTENSIVELY. But until then, I am very happy with this shredder.

My 12-sheet shredder just died one day. It was a heavy machine that sat atop a plastic basket and needed a good fit for the “actuating pin” to sit on this plastic receptacle bin. Over time, the weight of that shredder had cracked the bin and made everything unusable. No replacement for the bin available and superglue and duck tape just wasn’t working.I considered a new shredder that had a pull out bin, but after analyzing how much use (including number of sheets to feed into the machine at one time), cost, and overall weight of the machine, I realized a lightweight shredder might meet my needs. Good decision on my part.Excellent aspects:It is very lightweight machine that has an excellent and comfortable folding handle to lift it off the included basket. I have serious arthritis in both wrists and most fingers, and I can lift this off without any issues at all. It also easily seats right back into the correct position without any problems when put back onto the receptacle bin.It is pretty quiet when running.It has a window that clearly tells you when the bin is getting full, ensuring that you do not overfill and jam the machine. When full, the bin is easy to lift and dump its shredded pieces into a larger trash bag. The pieces may get a little statically attached to the plastic bin, so try covering the opening of the bin with a trash bag before you invert the bin and then tap the aides of the bin to get all the shredded pieces into the trash bag. I still had to round up some “shred debris” that clung to the inside of basket or missed the bag…not big deal.Price was awesome!Average/neutral aspects:My previous shredder had a lock out mechanism that let me ensure the shredder could not be accidentally turned on if the main selector switch was unintentionally moved to the “on” position. This machine does not have such a feature. It has 4 positions: FWD (on with continuous shredder wheels engaged regardless of whether something is sensed in the shredder slot), AUTO (power on, but shredder wheels not engaged unless something is sensed in the shredder slot), REV (shredder wheels in constant motion, but pushing things back out of the feeder slot), and OFF (which powers down the machine, red power light goes off). As there is no “guard switch” to prevent accidental activation, I simply unplugged it when I am not using it for a time and if any small children/pets are around.It also has an overheat light if the motor os getting too hot from continuous or heavy load use.It is not top heavy, but still can be tipped over if you move or bump against it. I have it freestanding on the floor between a similar sized trash can and the side of my desk. I have had no problems with it tipping or moving during use.There is a credit card slot, and while the machine will “chew” these up, you can hear the machine slow and even see the credit card wobble as it is being shredded. Worked OK as I only shred a card or two annually.I would not place more than 3-4 sheets of regular paper in at one time as you can hear the machine slowing to shred that amount. I am sure it can do more, but I decided to simply be cautious. The machine does shred as quickly as most residential use machines, however.Note: The actual continuous run time on this machine is much better than advertised. I ran it for 10 minutes without any problems, although I was only inserting 1-2 sheets at a time, not the max they say you can at a time. No overheat light came one, albeit the top of the machine did become a little warm.Overall, very happy with this machine. It will only get used every couple of weeks and then for only about 15-20 sheets of paper or other junk ail (credit card mailings, credit card receipts, etc…

I like that it’s relatively quiet and shreds thoroughly. I only shred less than suggested and it chews it up. If it holds up I’ll be very pleased with the purchase.

This is my first cross-cut shredder having had the spaghetti type previously. I’m happy with the shredder. I know it’s limits and in my own limited use so far, it has never overheated. To be clear, overheating is not a bug, it’s a feature, meaning that many if not most shredders – including this one – have built in functionality (for example, a warning light or shutt off) to prevent inevitable overheating of the motor if the manufacturer’s feed capacity and operating times are not adhered to.I had a backlog of shredding to do and perhaps should have purchased one with more capacity (this one has a 6 sheet limit commensurate presumably with what it’s motor can endure and still remain functional long term. You will hear it struggle if you feed it more than it can chew! Struggle is bad and will reduce the longevity of the unit). But I had to weigh my one time backlog use with my low regular daily usage (once the backlog is gone) so I chose the low capacity unit. It caused me to split my backlog into several sessions before it was done, but that’s ok for a one time deal. The chomping of 6 sheets max is probably faster than you can count 6 sheets off a pile and feed them in, but the constant feeding for the stipulated 4 minutes (before a 40 minute cooling down pause) made a decent dent in my backlog. The capacity of the included collection bin is quite small so if doing a marathon shred (bad analogy given the mandated 4 minutes up, 40 minutes down time), you’ll need larger recepticles or large paper bags if you’re going to toss everything in recycle. My last shedder head had the ability to be expanded to different sized bins beyond the one it came with. This one does not have that nice feature and is an exact fit for the small bin that it comes with. The bin itself has a small inspection window built in to one of its sides so that you can guage when you need to stop and empty but to be honest I didn’t find this much use and my visual trigger – and not a good one – was when the shredder unit separated from it’s bin base and started to rise once the paper being shredded pushed against that already through and in the bin.All in all I’m happy with my purchase. Just know that depending on your backlog, if any, it will take several sessions to get through it. If you have moderate daily use of just a few sheets at a time, then you won’t face any delays and this shredder will likely meet your needs.Hope you found this useful!

I have a micro cut shredder I use for destroying documents. I bought this 18 sheet cross- cut shredder strictly to shred cardboard for my compost pile. I have lots of cardboard (single corrugated) from online deliveries that I cut into strips and feed into the shredder. I do not feed the extra heavy cardboard into this machine. The first time I used it, I shredded cardboard for 47 minutes without a break and the machine worked flawlessly. I am particularly impressed with the cooling fan that is built into the motor housing. When I finished with my 47 minute shredding episode, the cooling fan ran for about 4 minutes until it shut off. Also this shredder is the quietest I have ever heard. This appears to be a quality built rugged machine.

I’m turning 30, I’m moving, and I’m going through drawers and gym bags… and boxes and bags and oh my God how is there mail from 2019 in this container? I can’t move like this! So I go to Amazon (after Walmart) looking for something SIMPLE that will protect our identity after I shed old cards and irs statements. After hours of sorting unopened mail, and having multiple heart attacks at HOW MUCH OF MY INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED IN NORMAL ENVELOPES, I realized I wanted something NOW. I read the reviews on the fancy shredders and to be frank, I’m not that important. I don’t have a use for this every day. So cost wise, with the many pictures and videos I was mostly sold on the give it to me now option known as get it today. It’s a beast. I could take this out of the box in the dark and still set in the top (all the machinary and teeth, maybe 5-8lbs dense weight) to align to the base. It has a safety mechanism so it won’t allow you to try to use it if it’s not personally feeling secure. If I broke the waste basket (where it must connect to release the safety) I feel confident I could Jerry something up and continue using it however this thing is tough. I’m not looking to kick it around, I put it back in its box after 30 minutes of fun. It’s quiet enough my roommate still continued doing his calls working from home while I chewed away this embarrassing mess of don’t do this with your mail. I got the 12 sheet shredder, knowing I had insurance packets and old cards. My only complaint is to progressive insurance. If you are so pushy with paperless service when you are my insurer, why do I feel like this is mob mentality of a horse head in my bed as I shred entire adolescent trees coated in advertisement…. powerful. You can use it without instructions but if you want to be perfect, read the instructions. I got the 10$ warranty, seems better that another 50$ if I break the can. The shreds are fine enough I feel confident the only person who would try to put it back together is my mother and she lives in another state so that’s a major plus for my sense of security. Amazon returns are really easy, so if you’re unsure what you need I recommend starting here, and it’s less risk than most other sellers. Read the reviews. I didn’t over heat ever, and I only jammed my first attempt at the poor baby tree progressive sent me to bring me back to their policy. I recommend this 10 fold.

Love that it’s streamlined design to fit in tight area, it’s safe and easy to use and it’s not a noisemaker-in fact, a family member was on the phone w/shredder next to her and the caller confirmed she was unaware of its use-unlike the previous so called quiet shredder! Somewhat disappointed I believe it may be the design of the large capacity paper bin, it automatically shuts off and won’t allow it to fill to its full capacity, thereby, emptying it more frequently then the former shredder. Otherwise pleased w/purchase.

It’s an efficient and fast shredder. I’ve not had any problems with using it for over five minutes, despite what the info says about there being a “5 Minutes Continuous Running Time.” My only complaint is the bin doesn’t stay secure and I have to constantly push it back in for the shredder to work.

Easy to move around and excellent run time. Can shred plenty with the extended run time, noise level is good and frot removable bin (with view window) makes this easy to use. Simple operation.

So I have purchased three of these shredders and they are great for what they are designed to do. They “can” shredder up to eight documents at a time, but I would suggest against it. I would do about two to three documents at a time to get maximum shredding affect for the documents. Also if your going to shred cards do those one at a time. At time too I would shred some non important documents just to add fluffy to the shred to confusion anyone going through your documents. Besides that they last about two to four years with usage about two to four times a week with about 10 to 20 documents per-sessions, which for the price totally worth it. If you need to do a ton of documents I would suggest a more heavy duty shredder, but if your doing basic about through the mail this should be able to handle it. When you first get it, and you had a bunch of documents ready for shredding it might need a break about after 10 to 20 minutes of continually usage this is typical due to over heating just give it about 30 minutes before continuing shredding also make sure to empty the bin, because if it’s full it could cause it to not cool as quickly as it could when it’s empty. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.