ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2004

May 1, 2004

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2004-04-30

Reporting Person: LEWIS DIANA D (SVP - Human Resources)

Non-Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Code	Shares	Price	A/D	Holdings After	Ownership
2004-04-30	Common Stock	M	23600	$5.484	Acquired	80807.704	Direct
2004-04-30	Common Stock	S	23600	$29.75	Disposed	57207.704	Direct

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2004-04-30	Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$5.484	M	23600	Disposed	2004-08-19	Common Stock (23600)	Direct

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	11186.645	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of March 31, 2004. Includes 189.956 UNITS acquired since the reporting person's last report. (The 11,186.645 UNITS are the equivalent of approximately 20,117.16 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.)

F2: The option was previously reported as covering 11,800 shares at an exercise price of $10.96875 per share, but was adjusted to reflect a 2-for-1 stock split on June 6, 2003. The option was granted under the Ecolab Inc. 1993 Stock Incentive Plan on August 19, 1994 and became exercisable in equal increments on the first through fourth anniversaries of the date of grant.