Is driftwood safe to use for building a tree stand?

[Hoshi]

I would be getting the wood from a clean, freshwater river. I already talked with the local nature advisory and they gave me the green light to take a few pieces.

I'm planning on cleaning it with some non-concentrated Dawn (what I use to clean his cage) and some F10 (veterinary antiviral and antibacterial cleaner) before doing any attaching together. Thank you!

 

[Aves]

No, it's not safe.
A. You don't know what wood it is.
B. You don't know if it came in contact with chemicals, even if the river is clean.

 

[JLcribber]

Clean rivers aren’t that clean. What kind of wood? A dense hardwood piece of wood may have some surface contaminates. Possible to clean by removing/sanding/grinding off the outside layer. A softwood piece of wood would soak up everything right inside. The first thing to be done with any wood is to power wash it (1200 psi). This is as effective as sandblasting without damaging.

It’s always a risk using driftwood.