ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2010

May 5, 2010

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2010-04-30

Reporting Person: Gifford Robert K (SVP - Global Supply Chain)

Non-Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Code	Shares	Price	A/D	Holdings After	Ownership
2010-04-30	Common Stock	M	40000	$33.47	Acquired	40409	Direct
2010-04-30	Common Stock	F	31474	$48.98	Disposed	8935	Direct

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2010-04-30	Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$33.47	M	40000	Disposed	2014-10-28	Common Stock (40000)	Direct

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	511.587	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: Reflects the reporting person's payment of the exercise price and withholding taxes for a stock option issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 by delivering or withholding shares of Ecolab Common Stock.

F2: Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of March 31, 2010. Includes 1.697 UNITS acquired by the reporting person in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan since the date of his last report. (The 511.587 UNITS are the equivalent of approximtely 956 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.)

F3: The option was exercisable, on a cumulative basis, as to one-third of the option shares (excluding any fractional portion less than one share) on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant and as to the remaining shares on the third anniversary of the date of grant.