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Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Customer related programs			$ 594.2nwl_Customerrelatedprograms	$ 527.8nwl_Customerrelatedprograms	$ 486.8nwl_Customerrelatedprograms
Research and Development Expense			107.5us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	102.9us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	109.6us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Cooperative Advertising			136.3nwl_CooperativeAdvertising	117.7nwl_CooperativeAdvertising	117.6nwl_CooperativeAdvertising
Advertising Expense			188.5us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	149.3us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	140.0us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense
Inventory Valuation Reserves			32.6us-gaap_InventoryValuationReserves	37.8us-gaap_InventoryValuationReserves
Derivative Asset, Fair Value, Gross Asset			7.7	26.0
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate				5.3nwl_ForeignCurrencyExchangeRate
Venezuela Pretax Exchange Loss Upon Adoption of SICAD I Rate	38.7
Venezuela Pretax Exchange Loss Due To Devaluation		11.1	45.6
Venezuela cash on hand			53.3nwl_Venezuelacashonhand
Percentage of net sales generated by Venezuela, less than			1.40%
Venezuelan Subsidiary Bolivar Denominated [Member]
Net monetary assets			$ 55.8
Minimum [Member] \| Land, Buildings and Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life			20 years
Minimum [Member] \| Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life			3 years
Maximum [Member] \| Land, Buildings and Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life			40 years
Maximum [Member] \| Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life			15 years
Stock Options [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period			3 years
Stock Options [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period			5 years
Restricted Stock Units (RSU) [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period			3 years
Restricted Stock Units (RSU) [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period			1 year
Restricted Stock Units (RSU) [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period			3 years
Foreign Currency Rate Effective February 2013 [Member]
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate			6.3
Venezuela Foreign Currency Rate (SICAD I) [Member]
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate			12.0
Venezuela Foreign Currency Rate (SICAD II) [Member]
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate			50.0