One of these is obviously worse than the other but it seems to me if the seals are failing in any way it’s time to replace the water heater. What do you think?
Report what you see and make a recommendation as such. They will decide for themselves.
How old was the WH?
No way to know… The age of the tank may give some indication, but its not possible to determine when it will leak. I agree, report what you see and move on.
It may cause big problem when it get done leakage or damage. If you can not persist the problem than it may goes for blast. So it is better to replace it other wise it may cause big damage in your house also.
Replace it and forget about it. Seems that thing is old and rusted, no point in trying to fix it.