Nitrobenzene is also used to mask unpleasant odors in shoe and floor polishes, leather dressings, paint solvents, and other materials. Redistilled, as oil of mirbane, nitrobenzene had been used as an inexpensive perfume for soaps. It has been replaced by less toxic chemicals for this purpose.
Nitrobenzene is also used to produce lubricating oils such as those used in motors and machinery. A small amount of nitrobenzene is used in the manufacture of dyes, drugs, pesticides, and synthetic rubber.