You may not want to find certain vacuum cleaners under your tree this Christmas.

It could be one of those gifts that keep on giving, but not what you want. Instead it could give you more of what it's designed to remove.

It's like getting a riddle wrapped in an enigma with a bow on it.

But that's just what you could get if someone decides to give you one of six vacuums Consumer Reports recently found to be more problematic than those in any other vacuums in tests the independent product and service rater has conducted in the past five years.

Vacuum cleaners that emit dust.

Vacuum cleaners are supposed to suck, but not like this.

Nearly one out of three vacuum models Consumer Reports put through rigorous tests failed miserably, according to a recently released alert published online by the Consumers Union magazine.

When contacted, manufacturers said they were unaware of the alert, a brief sketch of a full study due in Consumer Report's March 2006 print issue and online.

Consumer Reports found that instead of picking up dust, all three of the tested models of Hoover's Wal-Mart-exclusive $130 Fusion U5180-900 upright allowed an "unusually high amount" of dust to be blown back into the air.

Dust also blew from two of three samples of the $160 Hoover Duros S3590 canister after some "flimsy plastic parts" failed. A bag retainer on one sample failed and a bag lock on that same sample failed on that same model and one other. During vacuuming, tools also fell off the machines.

The magazine said dust emissions are of potential concern to those with respiratory problems.

If you just want to sweep dust and dirt twice, you'll also be fairly annoyed.

"Three other models emitted high levels of dust in our tests," Consumer reports reported.

Dust escaped from the exhaust filter on one of three samples of the $100 Bissell CleanView Revolution Plus 3595-1 upright and dust escaped from the hose base on two of our three samples of the $50 Dirt Devil Dynamite M084600 upright, giving new meaning to "Dirt Devil."

On two of three $60 Hoover Tempo Widepath U5155-900 uprights, the dust bin was the source of leakage.

Another cleaner didn't even work. Two of four samples of the $250 Panasonic MC-V7720 upright had faulty release pedals that prevented the vacuum head from reaching the floor, rendering the machine less useful than its packaging carton.

So what do you do if you get one of these "dust devils"?

Manufacturers say they have not seen the Consumer Reports website-published alert and because they have not seen it, they said, they were unable to immediately comment.

"I'm asking around. We are unaware of this. I hope to get back to you by tomorrow," said Ann Lamb, a Bissell spokeswoman.

Consumers can address the problem by returning the product to the retailer for replacement or a refund (provided the retailer's return policy permits those options and provided the consumer wants to take a chance on the same model in an exchange) or by seeking repairs under warranty from the manufacturer. Consumers should incur no costs for such problems with new products.

John Dagget, a spokesman with Maytag, Hoover's parent company, said Consumer Reports has consistently rated Hoover's Wind Tunnel uprights high on its list of recommended products. The Wind Tunnel nabbed a No. 1 spot in the October ratings.

"It's hard to comment until I see the whole (Consumer Reports report) thing, but it's puzzling because of the high ratings we've had in just two months ago. I would say direct them (consumers) to the Wind Tunnel. It's a little more expensive, but they are top rated," said Dagget.

Published: December 13, 2005

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.