Exhibit 24.1

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That the undersigned, a Director of Ecolab Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Corporation”), does hereby make, nominate and appoint DOUGLAS M. BAKER, JR., STEVEN L. FRITZE and MICHAEL C. MCCORMICK, and each of them, to be by attorney-in-fact, with full power and authority to sign his or her name to a Registration Statement on Form S-3 relating to the registration under the Securities Act of 1933 of the Corporation’s debt securities, and any and all amendments thereto, provided that the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto, in final form, be approved by said attorney-in-fact, and his or her name, when thus signed, shall have the same force and effect as though I had manually signed said document or documents.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 2nd day of December, 2011.

/s/ BARBARA J. BECK

Barbara J. Beck

/s/ LESLIE S. BILLER

Leslie S. Biller

/s/ JERRY A. GRUNDHOFER

Jerry A. Grundhofer

/s/ ARTHUR J. HIGGINS

Arthur J. Higgins

/s/ JOEL W. JOHNSON

Joel W. Johnson

/s/ JERRY W. LEVIN

Jerry W. Levin

/s/ ROBERT L. LUMPKINS

Robert L. Lumpkins

/s/ C. SCOTT O’HARA

C. Scott O’Hara

/s/ VICTORIA J. REICH

Victoria J. Reich

/s/ JOHN J. ZILLMER

John J. Zillmer