Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Every product page carries the rate for each pack size, inclusive of VAT, for collection from our Nairobi store. The figure holds for seven days. We are one of the very few suppliers in this market who does this, and it is deliberate.

Most chemicals start at a 1 kg or 5 kg pack, which is enough to test a formulation properly. Packaging has a minimum order quantity shown on its product page. We would rather sell you a small pack that works than a drum you regret.

Please do. The store is on Ronald Ngala Street in the Nairobi CBD and you are welcome to inspect anything, take the Safety Data Sheet, and buy a small quantity to test.

Yes, and on the same invoice. Jerry cans from 1 to 20 litres, 200 litre drums, trigger bottles, caps, induction seals and label stock. It saves a day of driving.

No. Crystal Chemical Co Ltd and Crystal Industries are separate, long-established businesses with no connection to us. Crystalline Chemicals trades from Ronald Ngala Street on the number listed on this site.

Yes, at no charge. Our formulation library has working recipes with quantities, and if you tell us what went wrong with a batch we will usually be able to say why.

Seven days from the date shown on the price list. Imported material moves with the exchange rate and freight, so we would rather update the site than surprise you at the counter.

Yes. The published figure is the shelf rate. Drums, pallets and standing monthly orders are priced better than that. Send your list with quantities and we will come back with the rate at your volume.

Handling. Splitting a 170 kg drum into 5 kg pails costs labour, pails, caps and spillage. If you can store a drum safely, moving up one pack size is the easiest saving available to a small producer.

Yes, the figure shown includes VAT. An ETR receipt is issued on every sale.

No. Prices are for collection. Freight is charged at actual cost and quoted separately so you can see exactly what each part costs.

On a defined basket of materials, for a defined period, yes. Fixing every line for twelve months is not something an honest supplier can promise on imported goods.

Orders confirmed before about two in the afternoon on a working day normally go out the same day. Small parcels travel by motorbike, larger loads by pickup. Most of the metro is reached within a few hours.

Yes, through the courier and parcel services already running those routes. Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kisii, Kakamega, Nyeri, Meru, Embu, Machakos, Mombasa and beyond. Small consignments usually arrive next day; drums travel by transporter and take a little longer.

The actual freight, with nothing added. We send you the waybill number when the parcel is booked so you can follow it yourself.

Acids, caustic soda and hypochlorite are packed in their own outer, clearly marked, and never boxed with incompatible goods, fragrance or packaging. Riders are instructed to keep drums upright.

Photograph it before opening and tell us the same day. We replace it. If we sent the wrong material that is our error and we collect and replace at our cost.

Yes, and it is free. Tell us roughly when you are coming and the order will be weighed, packed and labelled before you arrive. There is loading space at the rear for drums.

Yes, for every chemical line, in the standard sixteen-section format, and before you buy rather than after. Message the product name and we will send the PDF the same day.

Yes, on request, for the specific batch supplied. Institutional buyers and anyone submitting to KEBS usually needs one.

Bleach with any acidic cleaner, which releases chlorine gas. That single mistake causes more injuries in Kenyan cleaning work than anything else. Keep hypochlorite away from hydrochloric acid, sulphamic descalers and acidic toilet cleaners.

Add the flakes slowly to cold water while stirring, never the other way round and never in a sealed or glass container. The solution heats sharply. Gloves and splash goggles, not spectacles.

Off the floor, out of the sun, ventilated and lockable. Acids apart from alkalis, and both apart from hypochlorite. Peroxide and hypochlorite lose strength in heat, so avoid a metal store under an iron roof.

If you are selling a finished cleaning product commercially, yes, and the applicable standard depends on the product. Start the process early. We can tell you which standard usually applies, though we are not a certification body.

Yes. Send the LPO by email and it is acknowledged the same working day with a confirmed delivery date. Standard terms are thirty days for established institutional accounts.

Yes. Send the bill of quantities and the closing date and we return a priced schedule on letterhead with pack sizes, unit rates, lead time and validity, plus the usual supporting documents.

A signed delivery note, an ETR invoice, and the Safety Data Sheet set for every chemical supplied. For institutions we can compile the whole SDS set into one file for the store.

Yes, and for most institutions it is the better arrangement. Agree the annual quantity, take it monthly or termly, pay against each delivery. Peroxide, hypochlorite and enzyme products degrade in a warm store, so this is a real saving.

To the store. Our drivers are used to signing in at a gate and finding the storekeeper, and drums are not left at a reception desk.

We will state the equivalent we are offering and what it contains, rather than quietly substituting. If we cannot match a specification we say so.

A trial batch is realistic for a few thousand shillings covering nine materials at small pack sizes. Our starter kits are costed live so you can see the exact figure before committing, and they include the formulation sheet.

Sulphonic acid, caustic soda, SLES, CDEA, salt, a sequestrant for hard water, preservative, colour and fragrance. Plus jerry cans and caps, which people routinely forget when costing.

Usually too much salt. The viscosity curve peaks and then falls, and past the peak more salt thins it permanently. Add salt as a brine, slowly, and stop when it looks right.

Hard water. Calcium and magnesium react with the surfactant. Add a sequestrant such as EDTA or STPP, or soften the water before you mix.

Yes, in anything water-based. A jerry can sitting in a warm store will grow something within weeks. Preservative costs very little and prevents a product that separates, clouds or smells on a customer shelf.

Liquid. The chemistry is more forgiving, materials are cheaper, the same base gives you both liquid soap and dishwashing liquid, and the market is everywhere.