Nobody checks the hot water until the basin comes up lukewarm. By then the bath has been hurried for a while, the second wash of the day has been done with whatever the tank had left, and someone has started running the tap longer to get it right. This is about catching that drift while it is still a habit and not yet a problem.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What the drift looks like
Watch the order of the day, not the water heater. The first wash in the morning is fine. The one after lunch, or the one after a load of laundry, runs cooler. The tap gets left on longer before the water feels right. Someone starts topping up the basin from the kettle. Each adjustment is small, and each one hides the one before it.
Check the pattern first
Hot water in most homes is one shared supply, and the bath is usually the last thing in line behind the dishwasher, the washer and the shower. For one week, write down each time the water runs short and what ran just before it. A plain list shows the pattern faster than memory does. If the short baths line up with laundry or with a shower, you have a scheduling problem before you have an equipment problem.
Then look at the heater
Find the tank or unit and read the label for its rated capacity and the temperature setting. Look at the base for any water, staining, or a drip line. Ask the plumber who services it to tell you the age of the unit and whether it is sized for the household as it runs now, not as it ran before the room was in use. Do not raise the temperature setting past what the label allows. A licensed plumber should set it.
Name who calls
Write two names on the note. One person calls the plumber. Another person watches the schedule and reports the first short bath. These are often two different people, and the one who is up at six in the morning is usually the one who sees it first. Whoever pays the bill should also know that a repair or a replacement is the decision on the table, so nobody is surprised by the quote.
Call the week you see the second one
A heater that is struggling is easier to fix while the household still has room to move the bath to a different hour. Do not wait for a cold bath to make the call. Ask the hospice team what the bathing routine needs in water and how long a basin should stay warm, and write those answers on the note, so the plumber hears the real need and not a guess about it.