Basis Of Presentation And Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Jan. 01, 2016
Estimated Impact upon adoption - ASU 2015-03			$ 18,000,000
Seasonal percentage of operating income	60.00%nwl_SeasonalPercentageOfOperatingIncome
Seasonal percentage of operating cash flows	90.00%
Official Currency Exchange Rate In Venezuela After February 2013 Devaluation		6.3
Venezuelan SICAD I rate	12.0nwl_VenezuelanSICADIrate	10.7nwl_VenezuelanSICADIrate
Venezuelan SICAD II rate		49.8nwl_VenezuelanSICADIIrate
Venezuela Pretax Exchange Loss Upon Adoption of SICAD I Rate		38,700,000
Venezuelan SIMADI Exchange Rate	193nwl_VenezuelanSIMADIExchangeRate
Net Monetary Assets	57,800,000nwl_NetMonetaryAssets
Venezuelan cash and cash equivalents	$ 52,900,000nwl_Venezuelancashandcashequivalents
Percentage of net sales generated by Venezuela, equal to or less than	2.00%	2.00%

Estimated Impact upon adoption - ASU 2015-03

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- Definition

Current assets convertible to cash at or approximating carrying value net of short-term liabilities to be settled in cash.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Net Sales As A Percentage of Consolidated Net Sales

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- Definition

Official Currency Exchange Rate In Venezuela After February 2013 Devaluation

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Seasonality of the Company's cash flows from operations.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Percentage of the company's operating income earned in specific quarters due to seasonality.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Cash and cash equivalents denominated in Venezuelan Bolivars.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Venezuelan SICAD II rate is intended to resemble a market-driven exchange rate.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

SICAD I is a system that allows companies to exchange a limited volume Bolivars for U.S. Dollars at a bid rate via weekly auctions.

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Venezuelan SIMADI Exchange Rate

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Venezuela Pretax Exchange Loss Upon Adoption of SICAD I Rate

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No definition available.

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