Are you a person who is easily distracted or has a problem focusing in loud environments? Shredding paper is unavoidable but the noise coming from it is not necessary. Check out my list of the best quiet paper shredder on the market down below.
Choosing a Paper Shredder Suited For You
Shredders come in a variety of shapes, sizes and abilities. There are small manual shredders for light occasional use and they can shred only one sheet of paper at the time. For moderate use there are various models, they differ in price which depends on size, capacity (from 6 to 24 sheets of paper in a single pass, trash bin capacity), performance (how fast they are, how long can they run before needing to cool down) and the level of protection they provide (strip-cut, cross-cut and micro-cut), if they are able to shred CDs and whether they have safety features.
The Annoying Sounds Shredders Make
New imperative became the amount of noise shredders will produce while working. Electrical paper shredders are powered by motors that rotate the blades, and the motor itself produces a certain amount of noise. If you add rotating and hitting of the blades, it makes the whole process of shredding pretty loud. That can be a problem if you have to share office space or household with children, or if you just want to protect your hearing.
The Silent Shredders
85 dB is the upper limit that human ear can be exposed to for 8 hours without any damage. Normal conversation is between 65 and 75 dB, while ambulances generate 125 dB of noise. Standard paper shredders will produce from 75 to 80 dB of noise. New technologies were developed to reduce noise, such as motor mounts that will absorb the vibrations, blades with less friction while shredding, sound absorbing cabinets, etc.
This article will present you with the specifications and performance abilities of the quiet paper shredders, which produce less than 70 dB of noise.
Top 5 Quiet Paper Shredders
Ultra Quiet Jam Proof Paper Shredder
Fellowes 79Ci Cross-Cut Paper Shredder
This model of paper shredder manufactured by Fellowes is a great option if you search for a quiet paper that will not disturb you or your co-workers when it’s in use. The maximum capacity of this shredder is 16 sheets of paper, and it is also able to tear up credit cards and old CDs with no problem, but you have to feed it one at the time. Cross-cut paper pieces are not larger than 5/32 x 1-1/2 inches so it will protect the sensitive content of your documents.
A bonus feature to this shredding machine is that it’s jam proof, but still, respect the capacity of your shredder. Also, this quiet shredder has a safety feature that will halt the blade if it senses that the fingers got near the insert slot. This means you will have to thrust your paper little further in the slot so it can be recognized and destroyed, but if you have small kids or pets this will stop you from worrying about their safety.
This is a medium quiet paper shredder with dimensions 21.31 x 15.38 x 10.44 inches and it has a plastic pull out a wastebasket that can hold a capacity of 6 gallons of paper waste. The basket has a clear plastic window and integrated handle for easier emptying. The bin and the shredding unit have to be completely aligned otherwise shredder won’t work, so I wouldn’t suggest the use of plastic bags since they’re making it harder for the bin to fits in completely. Also, you can put plastic casters, they will increase the height by a couple of inches, but you can easily move it anywhere you want.
This is an electric shredder, so the motor and the blades will produce a certain amount of noise. However, the reduced noise level is another wonderful feature that makes this shredder great for personal use, especially if you have little kids that you just put to sleep and you don’t want to wake them up. The manufactures patented a mechanism that will absorb the noise, reducing noise pollution to only 56 dB. This shredder will work continuously for 20 minutes before making the 30 minutes break when motors start to overheat it will be shut off to protect any further damage.
Ultra Quiet Desktop Paper Shredder
Aurora AU1200XD 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder
Made by Aurora, this is another great quiet paper shredder. It will destroy paper into 5/32” x 1-7/32” pieces to secure all your private information, insert slot is 8.7” wide and it will take 12 sheets of paper at the same time, no need to previously remove the staples and paper clips since it will chew them in no time. Blades are powerful enough to destroy even credit cards and old CD/DVDs into tiny pieces, but you should insert them one at the time.
This shredding machine can easily fit under any work desk, thanks to its dimensions (13.2” x 9.9” x 11.8”). Of course, you will have to take care that the power outlet is nearby. You just have to plug in and start shredding, it will run non-stop for 5 minutes straight, after that the motor will require a cool down break that lasts 30 minutes. In the case of overheating, the shredder will automatically shut down to save the motor from high temperature. The LED light indicator is signaling if the shredder doors are open, or if it is overheating or overloaded with paper.
AU1200XD is equipped with 1.8 gallons pull-out trash bin that will collect all the shredding, and once it’s full it can be easily emptied. Every shredder has its limitations, so if the paper jamming occurs you shouldn’t panic or raging in anger since this shredder has Anti-jam mode that will automatically reverse the blades to clean it, so you can keep your information safe.
Quiet Heavy-Duty Paper Shredder
Bonsaii C149-C 18-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder
Bonsaii C149-C is a heavy-duty but quiet paper shredder and it is perfect for offices or households that have more documents to shred. It can fit up to 18 sheets of paper at the single load, and besides paper, it will tear up paper clips, staples, expired credit cards and even old CD/DVDs, but you have to insert them one at the time. Slot is 8.7” wide and can fit most of the junk mail and A4 paper with no problem.
The paper is being cut into 1/5” x 1-50/87” small pieces, that is really good protection for all of your information, since is highly unlikely that someone will be able to put them back together. All the paper waste goes into 6 gallons pull-out trash bin and through the plastic window, you can see when it’s full and simply empty it. This shredder comes with four casters that you can attach to it and effortlessly move it around.
Operating this shredder is really simple, you just have to plug it into the wall and set to Auto mode. Sensors will detect paper being inserted into the slot and it will automatically activate the blades to start shredding the paper. Thanks to the advanced cooling system, this shredder can work for a full hour without you worrying it will overheat. Still, it is suggested to make occasionally breaks and try not to overload it. It can shred 5.3 feet of paper per minute and if it jams it will automatically reverse the blades to clean the jam so you don’t have to do anything. Even though this is a really powerful shredder with big capacity, you can barely hear it working because the noise level is 62 db.
Silent Fast Paper Shredder
Sentinel FM101P 10-Sheet Micro-Cut Paper Shredder
This shredder will cut 10 sheets of paper in a single pass into micro-cut pieces, size of 5 x 10 mm. Micro-cut will give you the best level of protection for your personal information. It can also shred credit cards, but only one at the time, unfortunately, this shredder is not fitted for CD/DVDs, staples and paper clips can be a shredder but it’s not recommended for the blades.
It destroys paper pretty fast (7.2 feet per minute) around 72 sheets of paper per minute. Shredded paper falls into a 3.5 gallons waste basket, there’s no need for the plastic bag since you can just easily slide-out the bin to throw away the waste. The bin also has a small plastic window that allows you to see when it’s full without opening it. The dimensions of this shredder are 12.8” x 8.5” x 16.9” and it weighs 13.2 pounds and you can put it on small plastic casters that will allow you to easily moving it around.
Operating this unit is almost effortless, plug it in to the wall and set to Auto mode. The sensors will detect the presence of the paper in the insert slot and it will automatically start the blades, and when the shredding is done it will stop the blades. Also, shredding will be interrupted if the trash big gets full, and in case of paper jamming the blades, you will just have to switch it manually to reverse mode. Shredder can work for 2 minutes straight without stopping for a cool-down break, and there is an LED light indicator that will signal to you if overheating occurs. Besides being powerful and efficient, this is a quiet paper shredder so you can shred all you like without disturbing people around you.
Silent Micro Cut Office Paper Shredder
Fellowes 62MC 10-Sheet Micro-Cut Paper Shredder
Fellowes 62MC is the last on our list of quiet paper shredders, with noise level production is only 60 db. It is great for shared office space or for households, since it won’t disturb a person sleeping in the room next door. It can shred 10 sheets of paper at a time to approximately 2,000 small micro-cut particles (7/64” x 25/64”) that give better protection for your documents than cross-cut.
There’s no need to remove the staples, it can also destroy credit cards, but you will have to push one at the time. Don’t use this shredder to destroy CDs since it can seriously damage the blades. Shredded paper falls into 5 gallons pull-out trash bin with a small window to see when to empty it. Micro-cut paper takes 80% more paper per gallon than cross-cut. It will run for 7 minutes of continuous use before needing to cool down, the cooling time is about 30 minutes.
There’s an LED light indicator that will show you when the shredder starts to overheat, and it will shut it down before temperatures reach too high values to prevent system damage. Safety Lock feature will come in handy especially for those with pets and children, the sensor will stop the blades as soon as it senses anything that is not paper or credit card in the insert slot. Also, shredder won’t work if you remove the bin, so no need to worry that paper will be all over the office. Product dimensions are 18.75” x 13.75” x 10.44” and it weighs 20.5 pounds. To ease up the moving of the shredder, can be upgraded with small plastic castors.
Conclusion: The Best Silent Paper Shredder
The best office silent shredder is surely the Fellowes 79CI cross-cut paper shredder, because it has the benefits of a regular high end shredder with the added feature of SilentShred. It sacrifices nothing in exchange for being a quiet shredder and it holds up in features to its louder counterparts. Its cost is higher than most shredders on this list but as an office appliance it should be easily covered. I hope you found what you are looking for and if not check out my other articles. More high workload office shredders are available for research on my article about the best 5 high capacity paper shredders. If you want the noisiest and strongest paper shredders on the market check-out my heavy duty paper shredders article. As an added bonus you can also check out my best home shredders article.