Shredder: Which shredder convinces in the test

Highlights: The German bureaucracy does not seem to appreciate Marie Kondo. The retention period for essential documents is ten years. Tax documents, craftsmen's invoices and insurance policies should be kept for a limited period of time. There is a wide range of options available from around ten, to high-end shredder attachments. All five models tested are relatively similar in their functionality, but in some cases have significant differences in their price. All are extremely far apart, apart from the Leitz as up to eight hours for occasional users.

Even if it's not fun, some paperwork has to be kept. But for how long? And which shredder can be used to safely dispose of the filing system? We tested five devices.

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Well shredded is half disposed of: scraps of paper from a shredder

Photo: Jonas Mielke / DER SPIEGEL

Unfortunately, the German bureaucracy does not seem to appreciate Marie Kondo. It requires you to keep a lot of things that may not make you happy. That's why in many households, drawers and file folders are filled with pay slips, letters from the health insurance company and bills until space instead of happiness becomes a criterion.

Clearing out these mountains of files can lead to a queasy feeling: Should you simply throw documents with sensitive information in the bin? Bank statements, delivery notes and expired bank cards? Do you cut or tear up the documents beforehand – and if so, how finely?

If you are tired of asking yourself these questions or even have to meet data protection requirements as a self-employed person, you should think about purchasing a shredder.

But before you put it into operation, it is important to clarify what can be shredded and what should not be shredded. We have summarized the most important points below:

AreaWhich documents should be kept?expand

"Anything that is suspicious of accounting should be kept," says Wolfgang Wawro, tax consultant and expert at the German Association of Tax Consultants. This applies in particular to entrepreneurs whose regulations for the storage of documents are regulated in Section 147 of the Tax Code. The retention period for essential documents such as annual financial statements, inventories and accounting documents is ten years. Other documents that are important for taxation must be kept for six years.

But, according to Wawro, the same applies to private individuals: "Careless disposal is never good". If in doubt, you should ask an expert. If, in the event of an audit by the tax office, no or no complete proof could be provided, the authority's estimate would usually be to the detriment of the taxpayer.

However, there are many more reasons beyond the tax office to keep some documents at least for a while.

AreaHow long should certain documents be kept?expand

The experts at Stiftung Warentest offer a traffic light system for private storage. Among other things, various tax documents, craftsmen's invoices and insurance policies should be kept for a limited period of time.

Evidence of the tax return should be "kept at least until the end of one year after receipt of the tax assessment," writes Stiftung Warentest. This also applies to the income tax certificate – but as soon as it is correct, the payslips can be disposed of.

However, the tax assessment should be kept for eleven years, "because of the ten-year assessment period for tax evasion." The editors of the Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe e. V. recommend "keeping the tax documents for at least four years after the tax return has been submitted." A period of six years applies to people whose income is more than 500,000 euros.

Craftsmen's invoices must be kept as a private person for two years, "in order to be able to document that it is not undeclared work," writes Stiftung Warentest. In the case of insurance policies, one should wait for the general limitation period for three years after the end of the contract.

AreaWhich documents should be kept forever?expand

According to Stiftung Warentest, you should never throw away your birth and marriage certificate, social security card, school reports, social security registration and everything about company pension schemes.

The editors of the Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe e. V. also advises to keep documents that can be used to prove one's professional career. These can be employment contracts, for example. In this way, it is possible to prove before retirement what may not be stored in the pension insurance.

Here's how we tested

If the documents can be thrown away, shredders ensure the protection of personal and confidential information. There is a wide range of options. It ranges from relatively inexpensive shredder attachments for the recycle bin, which are available from around ten euros, to high-end shredders costing several hundred euros for maximum safety.

We tested five models for the home office, which are relatively similar in their functionality, but in some cases have significant price differences. All of them have an automatic mode in which the paper is shredded as soon as you insert it.

The manufacturer's specifications for continuous operation, on the other hand, are extremely far apart. Hama specifies the "maximum permanent operation" as two minutes, Leitz as up to six minutes, and Dahle even promises up to eight hours. However, for occasional users, this information is unlikely to be the decisive purchase criterion. In the test, all shredders ran until the collection basket had to be emptied anyway. According to the manufacturers, all devices also switch off their cutting unit to cool down if there is a risk of overheating.

Our volume measurements showed values around 70 decibels (dB), which are roughly comparable to the noise level of a vacuum cleaner or kettle. Although none of our office neighbors complained about our tests, none of the devices were really quiet. The differences of a few dB are only audible in direct comparison.

In addition, all models meet the P-4 safety standard. This means that the devices in our test not only cut paper into strips, but into particles with a maximum size of 160 square millimeters. This means that documents can only be reconstructed with considerable effort. P-4 is therefore also suitable for particularly sensitive and confidential data. Better safe than sorry, even if most private individuals could possibly live with slightly larger particle sizes. An overview of the different protection classes and security levels is provided by the Reisswolf company.

But is it worth spending a little more money with the same level of security? How to maintain the device? Does the device reliably destroy paper with staples, paper clips, CDs and credit cards?

We have tested these devices

Hama Home X10CD
HP OneShred8CC
Leitz IQ Home Office P4
Fellowes PowerShred LX70
Dahle PS 380

Hama Home X10CD

The Home X10CD is an entry-level model that can be used in many ways. It destroys up to ten stapled pages of paper at once, and also shreds credit cards and CDs. As with all devices in the test – except for the Dahle PS 380 – the cutting mechanism is lifted from the container to empty it.

However, the low price of less than 50 euros compared to the rest of the test field is reflected in the build quality. The plastic of the 15-litre paper shreds container is rather thin – and has already arrived damaged. Cracks in the plastic can be seen at the bottom. This may be due to the parcel service and not to the manufacturer, but it suggests that the material is not particularly stable. In addition, the Hama model is the loudest device in the test with an operating volume of up to 72.8 dB.

The manufacturer also recommends oiling the cutting unit after each emptying of the waste container. All manufacturers offer special lubricants for shredders – also in the form of oil sheets, which are inserted into the shredder like normal paper.

What I liked: Delivers a high safety standard at an affordable price. Destroy not only paper, but also credit cards, CDs and DVDs.

The less: Quite noisy, comparatively small collection container, prone to damage.

HP OneShred8CC

Slightly more expensive than Hama's model, but cheaper than the other devices: The HP OneShred 8CC costs about 70 euros and is distributed in Germany by GO Europe. At 71.7 dB during shredding, the device is slightly quieter than the Hama Home X10CD, but it does not produce CDs.

The device cuts up to eight pages of paper, including staples, in one go, the smallest amount of all test devices. Plastic cards are also chopped into small pieces. As with the Hama model, the collection container holds 15 litres of scraps of paper. According to the manual, the shredder should be oiled "at regular intervals", which is somewhat unspecific. However, if one follows the recommendations of the other manufacturers, the desire seems to be to apply lubricant either after every or, at most, every third emptying of the collection container. Spray oils should not be used, according to the operating instructions, but only special oil for document shredders. The device comes with HP oil paper.

What I liked: A shredder that offers a high standard of security at a low price.

The less: Creates the fewest pages at a time, which could be a hindrance when destroying larger amounts of files.

Leitz IQ Home Office P4

The Leitz folder is famous. Basically, it is logical that the manufacturer also offers a device to make room in it again. The Leitz IQ Home Office P4 costs around 70 euros, just like the HP model. According to the manufacturer, it disassembles ten pages of paper at the same time, and in our test, even a few more pages did not immediately embarrass him. He doesn't let staples stop him. With a capacity of 23 litres, its collection container offers plenty of space for scraps of paper.

We measured a peak volume of 70 dB in our test, only one device in the test was less loud.

However, the operation of the Leitz is rather impractical. The manufacturer advertises with »Touch Control«. However, this only means that the buttons are not physical buttons. Whether you pressed or not, you don't feel. For example, you often reflexively type several times, as you know it from the operation of some modern cars.

Another disadvantage: According to the operating instructions, you should not shred credit cards with the device. It is the only model in our test that is not suitable for this. Leitz recommends oiling the cutting unit of the device after every third emptying of the collection container.

What I liked: A solid shredder that shreds relatively quietly.

The less: All other models can also handle credit cards. In addition, the operation takes some getting used to.

Fellowes PowerShred LX70

The PowerShred LX70 from Fellowes is slightly more expensive than the Leitz model and the HP shredder at around 100 euros. In our tests, the device destroyed up to eleven sheets of paper at once, and was not slowed down by staples and credit cards. We measured 71.8 dB in the test. Thus, the PowerShred is a bit louder than stated by the manufacturer and the second loudest device in the test field.

This model is the only device in the test that has a safety lock. It locks the main switch, so children would theoretically have to move two switches into the correct combination to set the knives in motion. The collection basket holds 18 litres of paper particles, which is slightly smaller than that of the Leitz model. On the other hand, you can see through the large viewing window when the device needs to be emptied. Just like Hama, Fellowes recommends that the device be lubricated each time the collection container is emptied.

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Not quite neatly shredded: an old library card

Photo: Jonas Mielke / DER SPIEGEL

However, the test showed that the PowerShred does not always cut plastic cards cleanly. On an old library card, the name, the card number and the location of the library were still recognizable. That's annoying. In fairness, it must be added that another plastic card was shredded without any problems.

What I liked: The PowerShred is a good all-round device in the mid-price segment, which, unlike the Leitz model, also manages credit cards ...

The less: ... but did not completely cut up another plastic card.

Dahle PS 380

By far the most expensive model in our test offers the most comfort for 300 euros. 15 pages of paper in one go: No other of the tested devices can do more. The collection basket has the largest capacity of 25 litres. In addition, the Dahle is similarly quiet as the Leitz model, we measured a maximum of 69.9 dB. In addition, the PS 380 has also reliably shredded CDs and DVDs. Novus Dahle also advertises that you don't have to oil the cutting unit in order to be able to cut paper quietly and reliably over the long term. If you follow the recommendations of the other manufacturers in terms of the rhythm of lubricant use, this provides a great convenience bonus.

Particularly practical: Unlike all other devices in the test, you do not have to lift the cutting unit to empty it, but can pull the container out of the front of the device.

However, this comfort comes at a price, because the Dahle PS 380 is relatively large and can hardly be stored in a space-saving manner. If you don't have to destroy documents every day, you may be a bit over-equipped with this model. It may be an option for the self-employed, but private individuals should rather use a cheaper device.

What I liked: No other of the tested devices is more pleasant to shred than this one.

The less: For private individuals, the PS 380 is too big and too expensive.

Result

When choosing a shredder, the most important thing is what you want to destroy. If you only occasionally clean out documents and credit cards, but also want to destroy CDs and DVDs, the low-cost model from Hama is a good choice. In the mid-price segment – with the models from HP, Leitz and Fellowes – things get more complicated. None of these devices can produce CDs, and you shouldn't cut credit cards with the Leitz shredder. On the other hand, the collection container is slightly larger, so it depends on the individual requirements.

In any case, some devices are slightly quieter or cut a few more pages of paper: But even the inexpensive devices reliably shred confidential documents. No device had paper jam problems in our test, none overheated before the collection container was full. You can't see a clear loser.

However, the Dahle PS 380 should only be of interest to multi-shredders. It is the most comfortable device, but it also costs more than three times as much as most of the other models in the test. This is probably only worthwhile for people who regularly have to destroy confidential documents.

Background: Product tests in the Tests department

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