Minerals collect inside a Lake Worth water heater as the water is heated.
Mineral-bearing incoming water leaves deposits behind when it is heated. In a tank-style heater, those deposits settle at the bottom and build up on heating surfaces. The layer slows heat transfer and makes the heater work against material that is no longer water. It also contributes to the popping or rumbling that develops when water gets trapped beneath sediment and boils there.
Scale matters in tankless units too. Their heat exchangers rely on narrow internal passages, and mineral buildup restricts those passages unless the unit is descaled as part of its maintenance. A loss of hot-water performance does not automatically mean a part has failed; scale and sediment are conditions worth separating from a problem with a control, element, burner, valve, or leak.
The existing heater and the water entering it both shape the sensible next step. Some units benefit from flushing or descaling. Some have a repairable failed component. When the tank itself is corroding or leaking, replacement is the appropriate answer. We assess those distinctions rather than treating every drop in performance as the same problem.