I moved into a new apartment a few months back and soon after moving in noticed a moldy smell coming from my stall shower drain. When I looked down the drain through the grate, I noticed what looked like residue buildup (whitish in color) with moldy colored elements on it as well - almost like mold spores you'd see on food. I tried using drano to clean the pipes out, but nothing budged. Then I tried to remove the grate to clean the drain manually, but the grate is grouted into the shower floor. I then got a spout brush and was able to clean some of the moldy residue off the uppermost part of the drain, but it all just fell down a little lower and is still stuck in the drain pipes. I tried drano again - no change. Any ideas on how to get the pipes fully cleaned out especially if the grate is grouted into the shower floor? Thanks in advance for any ideas you might have!

The grate should fit tightly inside the drain housing, so I think that it should be able to be pryed free unless there's been a mix up on the drain height. If you can get it off, then a little Clorox and a brush could be used to clean the drain.