Water heaters usually give some warning before they fail outright. Hot water running out sooner than it used to, rust-colored water, or a rumbling sound as sediment hardens on the bottom of the tank are all early signals worth acting on before they become a full failure.
A leaking tank is a different situation — once the inner shell corrodes through, repair isn’t an option, and a full tank failure can release many gallons into a garage, closet, or basement with no warning.
A local plumbing professional will check the age of the unit, the anode rod, the thermostat, and the heating element or burner, and give you an honest read on whether repair makes sense or replacement is the better value at this point.
A local plumbing professional will confirm what’s going on, walk you through the options, and give you pricing and scheduling directly — no markup added by us, no work performed by us.