What does degaussing mean? Degaussing is the method of erasing magnetic charge from a magnetized material. Occasionally, the shadow mask of a color CRT will pick up a magnetic charge, and deform, causing ‘purity’ or discolorations in the video image. The degauss process is achieved by generating a powerful time-varying magnet field that passes through the shadow-mask material and rearranges the magnetic particles in a random order.