Baby Oil

Mineral oil with added fragrance is marketed as baby oil in the US, UK and Canada. While baby oil is primarily marketed as a generic skin ointment, other applications exist in common use. It is often used on infant "diaper rashes" to ease the inflammation. Similarly, it may alleviate mild eczema, particularly when the use of corticosteroid creams is not desirable. Mineral or baby oil can also be employed in small quantities (2–3 drops daily) to clean inside ears. Over a couple of weeks, the mineral oil softens dried or hardened earwax so that a gentle flush of water can remove the debris. In the case of a damaged or perforated eardrum, however, mineral oil should not be used, as oil in the middle ear can lead to ear infections. It is also a recommended way of removing an insect from the ear of a human. A few drops can drown the insect, which can then be easily removed. Mineral oil is used as a suspending and levigating agent in sulphur-based ointments.

Mineral oil is taken orally as a lubricative laxative, and is often prescribed to ease the pain of bowel movements for those who suffer from hemorrhoids. Certain mineral oils are used in livestock vaccines, as an adjuvant to stimulate a cell-mediated immune response to the vaccinating agent. In the poultry industry, plain mineral oil can also be swabbed onto the feet of chickens infected with scaly mites on the shank, toes, and webs. Mineral oil suffocates these tiny parasites. In beekeeping, food grade mineral oil saturated paper napkins placed in hives are used as a treatment for tracheal and other mites.

Mineral oil is used in a variety of industrial/mechanical capacities as a non-conductive lubricant. Refined mineral oil is used as transformer oil. Electric space heaters sometimes use it as a heat transfer oil, and it can be used generically as a coolant in electric components as it does not conduct electricity. Because it does not absorb water from the air, mineral oil can be used as an automotive, aviation, and bicycle brake fluid. Light mineral oil is also used in textile industries and used as a jute batching oil.

Mineral oil can be used to clean heavier oil stains by diluting and liquefying the other oils, rendering the oils more accessible to detergents. Likewise, it can be employed to "de-gum," to remove adhesive residue left by price tags or adhesive tape. It can be used as a cleaner and solvent for inks in fine art printmaking as well as in oil painting, though turpentine is more often used. Mineral oil is also used in some guitar string cleaners, since it can help mobilize dirt and oil without contributing to the oxidization of the metal strings. Mineral oil can leave a residue, which is undesirable in some applications.