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EXHIBIT 24.1

POWER OF ATTORNEY

        KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That the undersigned, a Director of Ecolab Inc., a Delaware corporation, does hereby make, nominate and appoint each of ALLAN L. SCHUMAN and KENNETH A. IVERSON, signing singly, to be my attorney-in-fact, with full power and authority to sign his name to an amendment to the Corporation's Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-14771) to de-register the remaining $50,000,000 of the Corporation's debt securities registered on the aforementioned registration statement that have not been sold, provided that the amendment, in final form, be approved by said attorney-in-fact; and his name, when thus signed, shall have the same force and effect as though I had manually signed said document.

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 26^th day of February, 2002.

/s/  LES S. BILLER Les S. Biller

/s/  JERRY A. GRUNDHOFER Jerry A. Grundhofer

/s/  JOEL W. JOHNSON Joel W. Johnson

/s/  ULRICH LEHNER Ulrich Lehner

/s/  JERRY W. LEVIN Jerry W. Levin

/s/  ROBERT L. LUMPKINS Robert L. Lumpkins

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 27^th day of February, 2002.

/s/  WILLIAM L. JEWS William L. Jews

/s/  JAMES J. HOWARD James J. Howard

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 11^th day of March, 2002.

/s/  STEFAN HAMELMANN Stefan Hamelmann

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POWER OF ATTORNEY