Reddit reviews M-D Building Products 01305 36-Inch by 84-Inch H4 Door Weather-strip with Nails, Bronze

http://inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/asbestoslookC.htm

After seeing the posts from /u/mtexcursioner and /u/angrytaxman I felt like a visual aid might help you.

If there is a remote possibility that this is vermiculite with asbestos then I second/third the recommendation that you move ASAP and let the landlord know the reason. They are responsible for providing a place that is safe for occupation. Asbestos insulation is not safe. They have a responsibility to abate which will be costly to them but you will probably be able to break your lease with no penalty if this is asbestos since they have more than likely already violated by leasing a property that is not safe for habitation. Check your state laws to be sure.

Now for further information.

After looking at your pictures I would also like to add (I'm a landlord and a geophysicist) that the material doesn't look like vermiculite to me. Unfortunately I would need to see more detailed photos to be sure and that is why I have supplied the link. Don't go up and take any more photos. Ask your landlord what he used to insulate the house. There are plenty of photos and information in that link to allow you to use what you have already seen to help decide a course of action.

Also remember that it is possible that the photos show cellulose and that the cellulose covers original vermiculite. Only a good home inspection will reveal this. I don't recommend that anyone do this themselves. The landlord should know what the house is insulated with.

My analysis - I don't think it is vermiculite because the photos show fragments of insulating material suspended from spiderwebs (photos 1 and 2). These fragments appear more like chopped paper particles than platy vermiculite. This is more consistent with cellulose. Another clue is that there has been recent wiring added to the house, though possibly before the insulation was blown in, and it's unlikely that the contractor doing the wiring is going to be screwing around in an attic full of vermiculite. Most know and understand the risks. If the landlord did it himself he probably also did the insulation job. Since it looks like the insulation job was recent, based on the photos of it blown on top of the foil-faced air duct work, it can't be vermiculite. Vermiculite was poured or spread between ceiling joists I believe as opposed to being blown in. I could easily be wrong about that point though as I have never worked with vermiculite. My attic insulating experience has been with rolls of fiberglass, blown-in fiberglass, blown-in rock wool, blown-in sheep's wool, and blown-in cellulose.

Ask the landlord about the attic insulation. It is apparent that adding to it will improve the conditions in the air conditioned space below as there is not enough in there now to adequately insulate the house. It appears that he has about 2" average. 10" would be better.

If he is willing to add to it I recommend blown-in fiberglass on top of the cellulose (if that is what he currently has in the house). Cheap, easy enough to do yourself, and offers decent insulating ability relative to other options.

If you do the insulating yourself - wear a high-quality mask and change it frequently during the job, wear goggles to prevent getting any of that shit in your eyes since permanent damage can occur, wear a tyvek suit over your street clothes and trash it when you're done, wear leather gloves over your hands, coat all exposed areas of skin with petroleum jelly, lanolin, etc. to make it easy to remove any fibers after the job.

As to the doors and windows - I second/third the recommendation about storm windows. Cheap and effective way to improve the situation with the windows while still allowing you to catch the breezes during the short weeks when AC/heat isn't needed. For the doors I recommend door sweeps and replacing worn thresholds to improve the seals. Along the perimeter of the doors and windows you can also get a very effective seal using this stuff:

door jamb

brass door jamb seal - most effective jamb seal IMHO

There are door sweeps and thresholds too but since I don't know what your doors look like I will only recommend that you find one that fits the current threshold/door and use it.

I recommend doing the sealing on the outside of the house.

From the window picture another thing comes to mind here. It looks like the house may not have been painted recently and since it is an older home the paint may be lead-based. When you moved into the house you should have been given a USDeptHUD lead-based paint pamphlet. I have a link for you here:

HUD Lead-Based Paint Pamphlet - PDF Warning!

If you have young children this is very important. Also important for adults but critical for children. If the paint is chalky or flaky do not let your kids put their hands in it. Hands go to mouths, dust from hands goes to bloodstream and on to brain where it does really bad things. Read the pamphlet. Opening and closing the windows and doors can create dust from the friction so all mating surfaces need to be free of this paint if it is old.

It is possible to mitigate some of the risks by painting over the old paint. The best way is to remove the old paint.

A test kit is cheap at any big-box home and garden store - about $10 for 8 tests.

Home Depot kit

Don't pay someone $200 to do the test. Do it yourself. They will simply send their tech to HD or Lowe's to buy one of these kits and then swab a couple of places and pocket the other swabs for "sale" to the next customer - at $200. Big waste. Buy a kit, do the test, let the landlord know they will need to remediate the problem and keep a couple swabs handy in case they want to see the results themselves.

Good luck to you. Hope this helps.