We are getting a smell around the water heater tank area, that smells like decomp... There are no leaks and this smell seems to come and go . My wife can smell it much more than I can and she thinks that we need to replace the heater. I can't see how a smell would be coming from the tank if there are no leaks. This unit is about ten years old and has a anode rod in the top of the tank that can be replaced. The water coming from the fauset has no smell. We have checked the area for mice but have found nothing What do you think? Thanks for your help. :confused:

Have you shut the power off and opened the bottom inspection plate to check the insulation for moisture? Could be that it's not the heater at all. You could have a dead critter down there somewhere. Regards, Tom