What are some tips for unjamming my shredder?

Paper shredders are helpful office machines as well as powerful tools in the fight against identity theft. However, you may experience a paper jam at some point which can really put a damper on your workday. Here are a couple of tips on how to deal with jams as well as how to prevent them:

• How to prevent paper jams. The best way to prevent a jam is to never shred more than your machine can handle. For example, if the machine has a 10-sheet shredding capacity, don’t shred more than 10 sheets at a time.
• Use the reverse mode. Many of today’s paper shredders have a reverse mode. If your machine has this feature, engage it and gently pull on the paper. It should come out pretty easily so you can move on to other things.
• Remove the paper manually. Finally, you can try to remove the jammed paper manually. Turn off and unplug your machine, and remove the shredding head. Clear away the bits of paper but do so very carefully so you don’t injure yourself.
• Call a technician. Finally, if the jam is really serious of if you don’t feel comfortable clearing the jam yourself, you should consider calling a technician for help.