Ancient Pool Warrior: John Poma on Mentorship, Machinery and Alum

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Natalie Hood continues her conversations with the 2026 Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Mentors with John Poma—the “Ancient Pool Warrior” and a two-time Top Ten honoree.

John shares how a summer job pouring precast main drains became a decades-long career spanning commercial pool construction, service, plumbing, equipment installation and heavy machinery. He explains why the best field professionals must sometimes become their own engineers, how mentorship has evolved from guarded trade secrets to open knowledge-sharing, and why mistakes should be fixed—not used to assign blame.

Then it’s time to bust some myths. John explains why excavating a commercial pool involves far more than “digging a hole,” why bigger equipment is not always more efficient and how aluminum sulfate can reduce cyanuric acid without replacing most of the pool water. He also discusses alum’s ability to remove phosphates, clear green pools and lift certain copper stains—as well as what alum cannot do.

John’s advice to the next generation is simple: learn from experienced professionals, attend industry classes, understand flow rates, protect your body and read the damn manual inside the equipment box.

In This Episode

 John’s unexpected entry into the swimming pool industry  More than four decades of friendship and mentorship  Building jigs and solving problems in the field  Why asking “why” helped shape John’s career  Creating a workplace where mistakes are corrected without finger-pointing  The skill and situational awareness required to operate heavy equipment  Why the biggest excavator is not always the best machine  Commercial-pool excavation tolerances and costly layout errors  Using aluminum sulfate to reduce cyanuric acid  What alum can—and cannot—remove from pool water  The long-term physical cost of ignoring proper safety equipment  Why commercial flow rates and equipment installation details matter  John’s ancient pool battle gear: alum and a pool brush 

Featured Guest

John Poma
Commercial pool construction professional, field researcher, owner of a small pool service company, foreman with Executive Pools and two-time Talking Pools Podcast Top Ten Mentor.

Mentor Award Sponsors

 Title Sponsors: BlueRay XL and United Chemical  Gold Sponsor: LaMotte  Silver Sponsor: Rev’d Up Apparel  Supporting Sponsor: Aqua Comfort Water Group 

Hosted by Natalie Hood on the Talking Pools Podcast.

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