Water Heaters - Water heaters not lasting long enough

We moved into this house in 2000. The WH didn't look too old but no date on it. It stopped making hot water so we replaced it probably in 2002. We replaced it with a GE 6 year warrenty one from Home Depot. 2-3 years later that one started leaking/rusting in the front bottom. Home Depot paid for the heater but not the installation ($300). At that time people told me that it was just a coincidence but I'm wondering. With this one I've been flushing it and didn't with the old ones.

1. Can water heaters go bad in 2-3 years from hard water?

2. If I get a water softener will that help?

Thanks.

That short of time is strange even with hard water. Most tanks are glass (fiberglass)lined so they don't usually leaks in that short of time. Flushing and draining will remove deposits from the hard water though and should be done at least once a year. This also saves energy as the heat has to go through the deposits also. Gas heaters usually let you know when to flush and drain as they will produce a crackling sound due to the deposits on the bottom of the tank "boiling". On electric tanks, the elements get covered with deposits and it takes longer for the heat to get to the water.
If you noticed in the above, I said FLUSH and DRAIN. Some folks drain the heater (or part of it) and call it good. What you need to do is drain the heater (after the power souce is turned off) and then open the cold water inlet valve while the drain hose is still connected and spigot open. The water going through the dip tube to the bottom of the tank will "powerwash" the bottom of the tank. Just turn the cold supply on for about 2 minutes and then let it drain out. Repeat if solids are still exiting thye drain hose. Good luck.

Thanks majakdragon!