rotten driftwood?

[axolotl nerd]

ive recently started having mulm in my aquarium, and after cleaning out my filter and several water changes, it persists. in effort to fix the issue, i scrubbed down my driftwood today and discovered that it had layers of brown muck on it. not just brown algae, but it seems like the actual wood is rotting. there is a piece on the end that i was able to even pull off, which makes me think it may be rotted. ive had this driftwood for several years, if that provides any help. the wood doesn't smell foul, smells just about how you'd imagine wet wood would smell.
ive scrubbed it throughly and am now soaking it in a 5 gallon bucket.
pictures below, advice appreciated.

 

[wolfen]

unless preservative has been used on the wood it should be quite harmless as it deteriorates, although messy.
mulm is a natural bi-product from decay and although it is unsightly it is quite harmless, whilst there is organic matter in the tank (including axolotl) there will be debris and mulm, a canister filter is best for removing water debris and mulm.

 

[axolotl nerd]

unless preservative has been used on the wood it should be quite harmless as it deteriorates, although messy.
mulm is a natural bi-product from decay and although it is unsightly it is quite harmless, whilst there is organic matter in the tank (including axolotl) there will be debris and mulm, a canister filter is best for removing water debris and mulm.

good to know, thanks.
the mulm is more of an eyesore than anything, and scrubbing the wood has made it stop recurring after i clean. if it becomes an issue again, ill get a canister filter