My Rheem hot water heater (gas) was installed a little over eight years ago. This morning, while two showers were being used at once, it did not seem to supply much hot water to either user. I noticed the valve at the bottom started dripping. I had not noticed this before, nor have I noticed a problem in its performance like this morning. While it does not look like much water dripped out, the gas was on full blast. I turned the knob (left of the dripping valve), to Vacation mode, and the dripping stopped. What's going on, and should I be worried?

Hey Ben. Relax and have some turkey! Put a small pan under the drip for now. If you turn on to Vacation mode, you won't get any hot water! The valve in question is the drain valve and the washer is leaking. There are 3 choices, tighten the handle to see if it stops the leak, drain the heater and replace the valve OR, a simpler solution is to go to HD or Lowe's tomorrow and get a Hose Bib cap, same thread as an outside faucet. They come in plastic and brass but get the brass one. Screw it on tight and your leak will stop. You have 8+ yrs on the heater and it's life is slipping away. Figure a replacement is another year or two.