Percentage of eligible compensation by employee before tax contribution, 100% matched by employer.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of matching contribution by company vested immediately under a 401(k) savings plan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is up to 3% of eligible compensation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is between 3% to 5% of eligible compensation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is between 3 percent to 6 percent of eligible compensation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is between 4% to 8% of eligible compensation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ecl_PercentageOfMatchingContributionMadeByCompanyForEmployeeContributionsBetween4PercentAnd8Percent
Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is up to 4% of eligible compensation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	ecl_PercentageOfMatchingContributionMadeByCompanyUpTo4Percent
Namespace Prefix:	ecl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The amount of the cost recognized during the period for defined contribution plans.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 715

-SubTopic 70

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6414718&loc=d3e28014-114942

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
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- Details

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Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=ecl_NalcoHoldingCompanyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=us-gaap_ParentCompanyMember
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RETIREMENT PLANS (Details 7) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			8 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013
Legacy Ecolab \| All other active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	4.00%	4.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company, up to 4% eligible compensation	100.00%	100.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company for employee contributions between 4% and 8%	50.00%	50.00%
Legacy Ecolab \| Active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	3.00%	3.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company, up to 3% eligible compensation	100.00%	100.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company for employee contributions between 3% and 5%	50.00%	50.00%
Legacy Ecolab \| Minimum \| All other active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	4.00%	4.00%
Legacy Ecolab \| Minimum \| Active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	3.00%	3.00%
Legacy Ecolab \| Maximum \| All other active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	8.00%	8.00%
Legacy Ecolab \| Maximum \| Active employees \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	5.00%	5.00%
Nalco \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	4.00%	4.00%	4.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company, up to 4% eligible compensation	100.00%	100.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company for employee contributions between 4% and 8%	50.00%	50.00%
Nalco \| Profit Sharing
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Employer contribution			13
Nalco \| Minimum \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	4.00%	4.00%
Nalco \| Maximum \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%	8.00%	8.00%
Legacy Ecolab and Legacy Nalco \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of matching contribution by company vested immediately	100.00%
Employer contribution	67	54	43
Champion \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%		3.00%
Percentage of matching contribution made by company, up to 3% eligible compensation		100.00%
Percentage of employer matching contribution when employee before tax contribution is between 3% to 6% of eligible compensation		50.00%
Employer contribution				$ 5
Champion \| Minimum \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%		3.00%
Champion \| Maximum \| 401 (K) Plan
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Percentage of eligible compensation, matched 100%		6.00%