I'm adding this answer because I don't see it here.
One way is to put a '+' character in front of the value
example:
var x = +'11.5' + +'3.5'
x === 15
I have found this to be the simplest way
In this case, the line:
dots = document.getElementById("txt").value;
could be changed to
dots = +(document.getElementById("txt").value);
to force it to a number
NOTE:
+'' === 0
+[] === 0
+[5] === 5
+['5'] === 5