Those who have not found an alternative to bathing with Flint water are limiting their use of it — dashing into and out of the shower once a week with their mouths tightly shut. Others wash only with baby wipes — or, if they can, wait to bathe at the homes of friends or relatives outside Flint.

Many said they mourned the loss of the long, hot showers of their past.

“You wonder what you’re stepping into when you’re getting into the shower and just trying to make it as quick as possible,” said the Rev. Rigel J. Dawson, pastor of the North Central Church of Christ, where some members have been trying to help others find places outside the city to bathe. “That uncertainty really kind of plays on you after a while; it wears you down.”

The efforts to avoid bathing in Flint are linked to persistent reports of rashes, itchiness and hair loss, despite assurances from government scientists that they have not found evidence that the city’s lead-tainted water is unsafe for bathing.

The complaints are so widespread — and the anxiety is so high — that Dr. Nicole Lurie, an assistant secretary at the United States Department of Health and Human Services who is coordinating the federal recovery effort here, said she had asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency to work with the state on investigating whether the water quality was contributing to skin problems.