Special (Gains) and Charges (Details 2) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Champion	Dec. 31, 2012 Champion	Mar. 31, 2013 Nalco	Mar. 31, 2012 Nalco	Mar. 31, 2013 2011 Restructuring Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 2011 Restructuring Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Merger Restructuring Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Merger Restructuring Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Nalco Restructuring Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Nalco Restructuring Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2011 Combined Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Combined Plan Low end of range	Mar. 31, 2013 Combined Plan High end of range	Mar. 31, 2013 Employee termination costs Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Employee termination costs Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2011 Employee termination costs Combined Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Asset disposals Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Asset disposals Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2011 Asset disposals Combined Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Combined Plan	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Combined Plan
Restructuring reserve
Recorded expense and accrual													$ 20.8	$ 139.4	$ 74.7			$ 9.7	$ 126.1	$ 67.1	$ 1.6	$ 3.2	$ 0.5	$ 9.5	$ 10.1	$ 7.1
Cash payments											(0.3)		(29.3)	(65.3)	(25.1)			(20.0)	(62.0)	(22.5)				(9.3)	(3.3)	(2.6)
Non-cash charges													(1.9)	(7.1)	(0.5)						(1.6)	(3.2)	(0.5)	(0.3)	(3.9)
Effect of foreign currency translation													0.1	(0.7)	(2.2)			0.1	(0.7)	(2.2)
Restructuring liability	105.7	116.6									2.8	3.4	102.9	113.2	46.9			95.6	105.8	42.4				7.3	7.4	4.5
Other restructuring information
Restructuring charge expected to be incurred through 2013, pretax							150		180							80	100
Restructuring charge expected to be incurred through 2013, after tax							125		120							55	70
Restructuring charge incurred through 2012, pretax								134		80
Restructuring charge incurred through 2012, after tax								100		59
Restructuring charges, expected cash expenditures																70	85
Restructuring charges, after tax													14.3
Non-restructuring special (gains) and charges
Business combination and integration related costs, pre tax			10.0		3.8	102.5
Business combination and integration related costs, net of tax			7.1		2.7	77.7
Aggregate principal amount				500
Foreign currency translation charges associated with remeasurement, before tax	22.9
Foreign currency translation charges associated with remeasurement, after tax	$ 15.0