Losing hot water is one of those things you notice immediately and cannot really live around. Here is what usually causes it in West Ashley homes.
Age is usually the answer
Water heaters generally last eight to twelve years. A great many West Ashley homes were updated around the same period, which means a lot of heaters in this area quietly reach the end of their life at a similar time. If your neighbours have been replacing theirs, yours is probably a similar age.
What we can usually fix
A thermostat, a heating element, a thermocouple or a gas valve on a tank under about eight years old is normally worth repairing. Sediment settling in the bottom of the tank causes that popping or rumbling sound, and flushing it often makes a real difference.
What we cannot fix
If the tank itself is leaking from the body rather than from a fitting, no repair will solve that. The tank has rusted through, and replacing it is the only honest answer. We would rather tell you that than take payment for a repair that will not hold.
If yours is in the crawl space
Common in older West Ashley homes, and the damp down there is hard on the outside of a tank. Worth having a look at it once a year rather than waiting to find out the difficult way.